While many changes in Sri Lanka’s physical environment occurred in the nineteenth century with the development of large-scale plantations, many human actions still affect this tropical country’s land and water, with global implications.
Background
Before plantations were first developed in Sri Lanka, much of the area was dense forest. This served the highland Kandyan kingdom well, providing various forest products and protecting them from the incursions of the European colonial powers. But once the British defeated the Kandyans in 1815, they set out to transform the forests. The British build roads, and eventually a railroad (in 1867), to pierce these protected lands and to allow communications and commerce to easily and quickly pass between the highlands and the coastal areas.
When roads were initially cut through the forests, they were quite dangerous because of the wild animals that lurked nearby, so the British allowed the forests to be cut for a mile on each side of the roads, making them safer. This spurred massive deforestation in the area, converting land to serve human needs, rather than remaining in its more natural state. Increased access to markets enabled people to expand their economic opportunities by converting the former forest land to agricultural purposes. This also destroyed the native habitat of wildlife, birds and indigenous plants.
Advertisement from Ceylon Tea Planters’ Note Book, 1902-3
During the nineteenth century the population of the island grew considerably (from about 1 million to approximately 3.5 million), increasing the need to expand the amount of land devoted to food production, putting additional pressure on forests. Coffee production began expanding the need for even more tracts of land for commercial crops. By the mid-1830s, thousands of acres of forest had been converted to coffee. With the failure of the coffee crop in the 1870s, the plantation lands were replanted with tea.Once tea became the crop of choice, there was an additional impact on the remaining forests because of the need for wood to fuel the furnaces that dried the tea.
An agroecosystem is an integrated environment that is focused on the production of food or other commodities through the intervention of humans on a natural landscape. While such systems usually focus on profitability (making money), it is also important to focus on sustainability (maintaining natural resources), a concept that may be overlooked or given lesser priority. It is well-known that soils can lose productivity, and the constant addition of chemical fertilizers, and pesticides, besides being harmful to laborers and consumers, ultimately degrades the physical environment, leading to lower yields, and eventually lower profitability. Many factors led plantation owners to value short-term profits over longer-term environmental management.
A study of tea growing in Sri Lanka undertaken in 1998 found that productivity was being hampered by such factors as the age of the tea bushes, which had become “senile” in the sense that were no longer at their peak. New bushes were being planted at a slow rate, and older bushes were dying and not being replaced, leading to increased soil erosion. Outside factors such as government policies, international competition, market prices, and inclement weather,put pressure on tea producers, all factors not within their control. To compensate, tea plantation managers may choose to wring out whatever profits they can from their crops. Studies have shown, however, that such short-term thinking not only impacts the environment in ways that may take decades to correct, if it is even possible, but may also not maximize profits. With greater attention not only to sustainability but to organic foods and fair-trade products, even short-term profitability may be increased by providing consumers with goodsthat have higher commercial value because they are more desirable.
Recent news stories about leopards in tea plantations are illustrative of conflicts inherent in environmental issues. A sub-species of leopard, Panthera parduskotiya, is unique to Sri Lanka and is becoming increasingly endangered, with probably fewer than a thousand animals remaining in the country. As their habitats have become destroyed by deforestation, the leopards have been forced to expand their hunting ranges for food to include tea plantations. Because chemicals to destroy weeds have been reduced or eliminated on some plantations, weeds have increased, giving leopards places to hide. As a result, tea pluckers have been increasingly subjected to attacks. Protecting endangered species and protecting tea pluckers should not be mutually exclusive goals. This situation illustrates some of the complexities and competing values inherent in environmental issues.
View on Ceylon tea estate, c. 1908
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Curricular Themes and Student Activities
This module’s activities address issues of environmental concern including sustainability, government policies, the use of herbicides and pesticides, public safety in consumables, planning, deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, public policy vs. private interests and carcinogens in the environment.
Debate: Sri Lanka and Sustainability
Ceylon Tea: Does it Have a Future?
A critical look at the current tea industry, including problems of climate change, a ban on weed killer, tea quality, government regulations on plantation size, labor disputes, alcoholism, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxb-r2LOPYA
Only Eight Countries Meet Two Key Conditions for Sustainable Development as United Nations Adopts Sustainable Development Goals
The Global Footprint Network has determined that Sri Lanka is one of only eight countries in the world that meets their two criteria for sustainable development.
Conduct a debate regarding Sri Lanka’s sustainability, using these two sources and any others that students can find to contribute to their arguments. How would you characterize sustainability in Sri Lanka – on track? Not on track? Why? What do you foresee for the future of Sri Lanka’s environment if there are no changes made by tea plantations?
Government agency plan
National Adaptation Plan for Climate Change Impacts in Sri Lanka 2016-2025
Examine the export agriculture sector section of this government report, pages 86-90 of this publication (pages 85-89 of the original text). What does the government see as the environmental problems facing this sector? What is the range of solutions they propose? How specific are their recommendations? How would you do this differently? Note all the organizations involved. (See page 17, page 16 of the original document, for an explanation of the acronyms.) How difficult do you think it would be to make these recommendations a priority for all these organizations/government entities?
Paths to sustainability
Ozone Friendly Story
A website of the Sri Lanka Tea Board touting the fact that Sri Lanka has eliminated the use of methyl bromide, a pesticide, which has been shown to deplete the earth’s ozone layer.
http://www.pureceylontea.com/index.php/features/ceylon-tea-and-the-environment/ozone-friendly-story
Sri Lankan Tea Farmers Fight Deforestation & Climate Change
Describes a project of the Rainforest Alliance that eliminates chemicals, using weed cover instead, improving yields.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR7OS04RbEg
Examine these websites and the website of Eswaran Brothers tea, http://www.eswaran.com/sustainability.html. What are the various methods that tea growers and producers can use to be kinder to the environment?
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Historical drivers of deforestation
Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Sri Lanka: Identification of Key Policies and Measures
A UN analysis of the impact of Sri Lanka’s deforestation on global greenhouse emissions. Among the questions it seeks to answer are deforestation’s causes, its underlying factors, and its relative effects.
Examine Table 6 on page 50 of this publication (page 48 of the original text) on historical causes of deforestation, and compare them to more recent causes, as detailed on pages 51-54 (original text pages 50-53), the map on page 57 (page 56 of the original), and Table 9, pages 60 of the online publication (page 59 of the original text). Why are factors so much more complex now? What solutions can you come up with to address these causes? What additional government policies would be helpful? Compare your proposed solutions to those described in Table 12, pages 101-102 (pages 100-101 of the original text). See http://redd.lk/web/images/contents/document_centre/Final_DD_Summary_Completed.pdf for a summary of the report.
Glyphosate – what to believe?
Tea Industry Unites to Call for Lifting of Glyphosate Ban or Viable Alternative
Tea industry organizations in Sri Lanka are requesting that a ban on glyphosate be lifted because of lack of evidence regarding its harmful effects.
Alarming Levels of Glyphosate Found in Popular American Foods
Explains high levels in certain foods and some of the political issues surrounding testing.
https://www.ecowatch.com/monsanto-glyphosate-cheerios-2093130379.html
World Health Organization Evaluation of Five Organophosphate Insecticides and Herbicides
A brief statement regarding the cancer-causing properties of herbicides including glyphosate.
http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/MonographVolume112.pdf
Consider these documents, or any others you might find. What is the problem with glyphosate? Who is on which side of this debate? Is this what you would expect? Which argument do you consider more credible? Why? What would you tell the tea industry in Sri Lanka to do? Why?
View on Ceylon tea estate, c. 1908
Greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Factsheet: Sri Lanka
A two-page downloadable set of statistics on greenhouse gas emissions in Sri Lanka
https://www.climatelinks.org/resources/greenhouse-gas-emissions-factsheet-sri-lanka
Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data
A generalized view of the causes of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data
Globally, examine the role agriculture plays in the emission of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide (note that there is a separate page for each of these), and the contribution of the agricultural sector to overall emissions. Now look at the global trends chart. The need to control these emissions becomes obvious. What role does Sri Lanka play in these trends? How can its tea industry reduce its greenhouse gas emissions? (See efforts underway such as those on the Dilmah plantations, https://www.dilmahconservation.org/initiatives/sustainability/carbon-neutral-dilmah.html.)
Henry Cave, Sorting the leaves, c. 1900.
Additional Information
Why Forests? Why Now? A Preview of the Science, Economics, and Politics of Tropical Forests and Climate Change
While not directly addressing Sri Lanka, this series of articles based on policy briefs from the Center for Global Development outlines problems caused by tropical deforestation.
Deforestation in Peacetime, Sri Lanka
Describes some issues that currently serve to deplete forests in Sri Lanka and their effects, including increased flooding.
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/deforestation-peacetime-sri-lanka
Climate Change Is Messing with Your Dinner
Outlines some of the worldwide effects of climate change on food production.
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-climate-crops/
Tea Agroecosystems in the Uva Highlands of Sri Lanka
A technical study that outlines some of the problems created by government policies.
http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1659/0276-4741(2004)024%5B0052:TAITUH%5D2.0.CO%3B2
Prowling in Tea Country to Save the Leopard
An article that addresses human-leopard encounters.
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/180325/plus/prowling-in-tea-country-to-save-the-leopard-287230.html
Your Morning Cup of Coffee Is in Danger. Can the Industry Adapt in Time?
An article about coffee, not tea, but it details the problems of climate change on the crop, and what the larger companies like Starbucks are doing to prepare. Can we say the same of the tea industry?
