Disasters in mid country tea estates in Sri lanka

1. Disasters in Mid country
Tea Estates in Sri lanka
M.M.C.B Ehelamalpe

2. Disaster
 A disaster is a function of the risk process.
It results from the combination of hazards,
conditions of vulnerability and insufficient
capacity or measures to reduce the
potential negative consequences of risk.
 “A serious disruption of the functioning of
a community or a society causing
widespread human, material, economic or
environmental losses which exceed the
ability of the affected community or society
to cope using its own resources.”
Source: Reducing Disaster Risk, UNDP

3. Identified Disasters..
 Intensive Rains and Winds
 Land Slides
 Flying insect stings
 Forest Fires
 Drought
 Lightning
 Bush Debilitation and Death

4. Intensive Rains and Winds
Causal phenomena
 Mixture of heat and, moisture forms a low
pressure center over oceans in tropical latitudes
where water temperatures are over 26 degrees C.
Wind currents spin and organize around
deepening low pressure over accelerating toward
the center and moving along track pushed by
trade winds. Depression becomes a tropical
cyclone when winds reach gale force or 117 km
per hour.
General characteristics and effects
 When the cyclone strikes land, high winds,
exceptional rainfall and storm surges cause
damage with secondary flooding and landslides.

8. Land Slides
Causal phenomena
 Down slope transport of soil and rock
resulting from naturally occurring vibrations,
changes in direct water content, removal of
lateral support, loading with weight, and
weathering, or human manipulation of water
courses and slope composition.
General characteristics and effects
 Landslides vary in types of movement (falls,
slides, topples, lateral spread, flows), and
may be secondary effects of heavy storms,
earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.
Landslides are more widespread than any
other geological event.

9. Landslide- Nicholaoya State Plantation, Rattota, Matale

10. Flying insect
stings
 This is a common occupational hazard among
plantation workers who were engaged in fieldwork
most of the day.
 Insect stings particularly those of bees and wasps
(which also include hornets) are an unidentified
and unaddressed issue and send numerous
people to hospital.
 The National Poisons Information Centre clearly
indicates that they happen all over the country
with a higher concentration in estate areas.
 an insect-sting causes redness and swelling at the
spot but there could also be anaphylactic shock
and sometimes rarely renal failure and myocardial
infarction (a heart attack)

13.  found that where earlier flying-insect
nests were a top trees,
 now they are at tea-bush level, hidden
among the tea-bushes.
◦ Because the insects are seeking
protection for their nests at a lower level
because swoops on the nests by birds
which relish the larvae have increased,

14. Environmental sources say the flying-insect nests
are usually attacked by the oriental honey buzzard.

15.  The data show that the problem of flying-
insect attacks has not been addressed
either zoologically or medically, that even
in health statistics they do not fall under a
separate entity. There ‘snake bites’ but
flying-insect stings are under ‘animal
bites’.
 the loss of income to people who have to
seek treatment at hospitals after being
stung by these insects and able to take
time off work.
 seems to be limited research carried out
in Sri Lanka on this subject

16. Prevention and response if stung
 Dark colours such as black and blue are an
attraction, as also perfume and the odour of
beer and sweet sodas
 advising people to try as much as possible to
avoid them if they are in areas where these
flying insects roam.
 If stung, the sting should be removed with
care. If the sting-spot is squeezed with the
fingers, as we often do, to remove the
embedded sting, the chances are that the
venom apparatus which is atop the sting will
pump more poison into the victim. Therefore,
it is better to take a piece of paper and
attempt to take out the sting sideways

18. Forest Fires

19.  In Mid country, only a short dry season prevails
during the first three months of the year but the
risk of fire is often high due to low humidity and
the topography of the area.
 Fire hazard is very high in forest plantations,
especially in eucalypt (Eucalyptus spp.) and
pine (Pinus spp.) plantations.
 almost all forest fires are of human origin. Main
causes reported are..
◦ Throwing cigarette butts when travelling by train or
walking through forests;
◦ Burning of debris by workers maintaining roads
without taking proper precautionary measures;
◦ Burning dead grass in order to obtain fresh grass
for cattle. These fires often spread to nearby
forests;
◦ Setting fire to the forest by hunters to drive animals

20. Adaptation
strategies
 Forest plantations can protected from
outside fires through the use of
peripheral (and sometime internal) fire
breaks.
 Conduct awareness programmes for
plantation community.
 Take immediate legal action to
suspects.

21. DROUGHT  The crops have
declined drastically and
the production has
gone down as a result
of the drought. (reduce
the tea production by
about 50 percent)
 The drought is likely to
cause long term
damage to the
plantations due to
death of tea plants.
 Plantations and small
holders suffer due to
the loss of income.

22. Drought adaptation
strategies
 Selection of suitable lands for tea cultivation
 Use of drought tolerant cultivars
 Establishment of Medium and high shade trees
 Rainwater harvesting for use during a dry spell
 Soil & Moisture conservation through establishment of
green manure crops
 Avoid Dry weather pruning
 Forking: should be practiced during rainy period to retain
more water.
 If a water source is available micro irrigation can be
practiced mainly during new clearing, young tea stage
 Weed Management prior to dry spell
 Preparation for drought- Spraying of SOP or MOP and
Kaolin -reduce water loss by leaves (transpiration)
 Do a light skiffing to remove top most 2-3” of foliage [when
young plants (from 2nd-4th year) remained wilted during
morning hours]

23. Lightning
• In tea plantations -large portion of the
labour force working in the open areas for
plucking and for other cultural practices.
• Therefore, they always exposure to extreme
temperatures and inclement weather
conditions such as Lightning.
• Mostly affected in month of April (“Bak
maha Akunu”) which it’s also a crop season
with high labour outturn

24. Prevention in Lightning
Be away from open spaces..

25.  If hopelessly
isolated from a
shelter during
close-in
lightning, adopt
a low
crouching
position with
heels together
and hands on
ears
(Crouching). –
 Maintain
lowest possible
height

26. Bush Debilitation and Death
 Shot-hole borer is one of the most serious pests of
tea in Sri Lanka.
 The damage it causes is two fold where the
primary damage is a result of constructing
galleries in the branches and the most damaging,
the accumulation of wood rot, which debilitates the
bush in the long run resulting crop loss.
 The difficulty in controlling due to its well
concealed habit, the economic damage it causes
as well as the wide distribution contributed it to be
a key pest of tea.
 Infestation levels are extremely high and
consistent, both in the wet and the dry zones of
the mid-country.
 A huge Extent of Tea already lost for industry but
prevention measures not sufficiently spread.

27. Adaptation strategies
 Use of tolerant and resistant clones
(TRI 2023, TRI 2043, TRI 3018, DG
39)
 Chemical control (Fenthion 50% EC)
 Sanitation measures at pruning
 Maintain bush vigor in order to
encourage compensatory growth.

28. Thank You