Biodiversity Sri Lanka: A Decade of Business-Led Conservation

Celebrating 10 years of business-driven biodiversity action, with Dilmah among its founding partners

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Biodiversity Sri Lanka (BSL) marked its 10th anniversary this year, celebrating a decade of uniting businesses, scientists, and policymakers to safeguard the island’s natural heritage.

From its inception, Dilmah Tea played a pivotal role alongside IUCN and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in co-initiating BSL, funding its first staff member and helping shape the platform that would connect companies eager to act on biodiversity with the expertise and frameworks needed for measurable impact.

What began in 2012 as the Business and Biodiversity Platform, driven by this founding partnership, evolved into BSL in 2015 - making Sri Lanka the first country after Japan to establish a corporate-led biodiversity initiative. This milestone anniversary was commemorated with Annual Technical Sessions on 24th September and the BSL Annual General Meeting on 26th September, both celebrating BSL’s pioneering role and looking ahead to an even stronger decade of action.

“I look back with a sense of pride and also great appreciation because we trod untrodden ground,” said Shiranee Yasaratne, Senior Technical Advisor to BSL. “At that point I need to recollect the initiation carried out by the likes of Mr. Prema Cooray, the Secretary Generals of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, IUCN, and Dilmah Conservation, which funded the first staff member for the platform.”