A tea certification program in India is working to protect endangered Asian elephants. Here's how.
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TravelTranscript
00:00 Your favorite cup of tea could be threatening India's endangered Asian elephants.
00:07 The country is the second largest producer of tea in the world and its plantations are
00:12 rife with hazards for the vulnerable pachyderms.
00:14 But a new elephant-friendly certification process hopes to change that.
00:24 Asian elephants are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation
00:28 of Nature.
00:30 There's an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 of them in the world, about 30,000 of which live
00:35 in India.
00:36 In addition to poaching and habitat destruction, India's Asian elephants also face danger
00:41 on tea plantations.
00:43 They can be poisoned by chemical fertilizers, or injure themselves on razor wire or electric
00:48 fencing, or fall into irrigation trenches.
00:51 And that's where elephant-friendly tea comes in.
00:53 The certification program is a partnership between the non-profit wildlife-friendly enterprise
00:58 network and the University of Montana's Broader Impacts Group.
01:02 It sets standards for reducing risks of elephant mortalities and injuries.
01:07 For example, a tea plantation's irrigation trenches must have bridges or be terraced
01:12 so that elephants can cross easily.
01:15 Farmers must properly dispose of pesticides and herbicides, and they must use safe fencing.
01:20 Currently, about 14 vendors source tea from certified growers and use the official elephant-friendly
01:26 logo.
01:27 You could sip a cup of elephant-friendly tea in cafes from Bend, Oregon to Porto, Portugal
01:33 and beyond.
01:34 It's kind of a big deal.
01:37 [music]