Rainforest Protectors Trust

24/04/2026

Sri Lanka’s endemic Purple-faced Leaf Monkey (Presbytis senex) is a long‑tailed, arboreal primate found only on the island. These shy, leaf‑eating monkeys spend nearly their entire lives high in the forest canopy. In the wet lowlands, two distinct subspecies exist—one north of the Kalu Ganga and one to the south, where the Sinharaja Rainforest provides one of their last remaining strongholds.

The Purple-faced Leaf Monkey is Critically Endangered, with habitat loss and fragmentation posing the greatest threats to its survival. Protecting and restoring Sri Lanka’s lowland rainforests is essential to ensuring the future of this unique and irreplaceable species.

RainforestProtectorsTrust.org

22/04/2026

This Earth Day 2026, we’re reminded that protecting the planet starts with protecting its most vital lungs — our rainforests.

Every acre we save safeguards thousands of species, stabilizes our climate, and preserves the cultural heritage of communities who have protected these forests for generations.

Join Rainforest Protectors Trust in defending what cannot be replaced.

RainforestProtectorsTrust.org

21/04/2026

Looking for a meaningful way to honor someone special this year? Consider giving a gift that protects the planet itself.

Through Rainforest Protectors Trust, anyone can protect an acre of Sri Lankan rainforest in honor of a loved one. Each acre preserved helps safeguard endangered wildlife, protect freshwater streams, and support local communities — creating a living legacy that lasts for generations.

For about Rs. 6 Lakhs ($2,000), an acre of threatened privately held rainforest can be purchased and protected forever. It’s a powerful way to celebrate someone’s life, love, or memory while making a real impact on the Earth.

Explore how to dedicate an acre:

https://rainforestprotectorstrust.org/protect-rainforest-for-loved-one

This Earth Day, choose a gift that grows, heals, and protects.

🌱

You can make a positive change and give a lasting gift by protecting an acre of rainforest on behalf of your loved one. Your gift to the planet and your loved one will be recognized on our site together with the protected area.

19/04/2026

Earth Day has never been just a date for Rainforest Protectors Trust—and in 2026, that truth becomes even sharper. This year’s theme, “Our Power, Our Planet,” shifts the conversation from awareness to accountability. It challenges the comforting idea that caring for the Earth is symbolic, occasional, or optional. Instead, it asks a more urgent question: What happens after Earth Day ends.

For rainforest defenders, the answer lives in the everyday choices that shape forests’ futures—choices made in households, businesses, classrooms, and entire communities. Earth Day 2026 highlights the influence people already hold, often without realizing it. That influence can either safeguard the world’s remaining rainforests or quietly contribute to their loss.

Rainforest Protectors Trust embraces this theme as a call to action: to recognize the power we use daily, and to direct it toward protecting the ecosystems that protect us in return.

RainforestProtectorsTrust.org

17/04/2026

Since the first Earth Day in 1970 water scarcity has intensified dramatically, and many regions now face long-term or irreversible water deficits. Forecasts suggest that by 2050, 6.5 billion people could face severe water scarcity as demand increasingly exceeds supply, driven by deforestation, climate change and population growth. Many regions are now living beyond their hydrological means due to chronic groundwater depletion, shrinking aquifers, vanishing lakes, and irreversible loss of water-related ecosystems.

This Earth Day April 22, let’s make a pledge that truly matters: to protect and restore the water‑based ecosystems that sustain life across our planet. From rainforest rivers to hidden wetlands, these fragile systems are the beating heart of biodiversity, and they need defenders now more than ever.

RainforestProtectorsTrust.org

16/04/2026

Earth Day 2026 is less than one week away, and the clock is ticking for our planet’s last remaining rainforests.

Every tree protected is a victory. Every acre saved is a future secured.

This week, we’re calling on our global community to stand with us—because the rainforest can’t speak for itself, but we can.

Join us:
– Share this message
– Support conservation efforts
– Choose one action this week that protects the planet

Together, we protect what protects us.

RainforestProtectorsTrust.org

08/04/2026

Lorises are among the most ancient of primates and small mammals that could fit inside a pair of cupped hands. Sri Lanka has two species, the grey loris and the red loris, the latter occurs mostly in the wet zone rainforests including Sinharaja. They do not have tails, but are agile animals that move nimbly withing trees. They are primarily insectivorous but also consumes small vertebrates, fruits, leaves, flowers, and plant gums. Although lorises use a range of vocalisations, a short shrill whistle - easily mistaken for an insect's call - is generally all that is heard by humans. This and their unobtrusive, nocturnal behavior may explain why people are often not aware of their presence.

Every acre of rainforest we protect helps safeguard their future.

RainforestProtectorsTrust.org

31/03/2026

Wanaraja is a rare and endemic orchid found in Sri Lanka, glowing with its striking, velvety leaves deep in the shaded understory of the Sinharaja World Heritage Rainforest.

Although the scientific name was once used broadly for similar Southeast Asian species, modern taxonomy now recognizes it as uniquely Sri Lankan — a botanical treasure of our island’s rainforest heritage.

Let’s protect and celebrate this living gem of Sinharaja.

RainforestProtectorsTrust.org

27/03/2026

These magical insects that once lit up our childhood summers may not be around for future generations unless we act now.

But there is hope. Conservation efforts across North America are showing real results, and each of us can help:

✨ Turn off unnecessary outdoor lights
🌱 Skip pesticides and let parts of your yard stay wild
💧 Keep moist, natural areas where fireflies can thrive
📝 Join citizen‑science projects that track firefly populations
💚 Support organizations working to protect their habitats

Fireflies have survived for millions of years — let’s make sure they continue to shine for millions more.

Firefly populations are declining rapidly across North America. Learn about the causes, conservation efforts, and how you can help protect these magical summer icons for future generations.

25/03/2026

A Black Panther isn’t a separate species—it’s a melanistic leopard, its coat darkened almost to black by a rare recessive gene. In Sri Lanka, these magnificent animals are among the rarest forms of wildlife we have. Occasional sightings from the wet‑zone rainforests of Sinharaja hint that a darker variant may be emerging in these lush, shaded habitats. But even this fragile hope is overshadowed by a harsh reality.

Despite their rarity—and perhaps because of their elusiveness—many of these leopards never get the chance to live out their natural lives. Too often, they fall victim to illegal snares set by poachers.

The leopard pictured here was found in Nallathanniya in May 2020, trapped and fatally wounded. Earlier this year, the carcass of a mountain black panther cub was discovered at the Laxapana Tea Estate, a heartbreaking reminder of how vulnerable these animals truly are.

Every loss is more than a tragedy—it’s a step closer to losing an irreplaceable part of Sri Lanka’s natural heritage.

🌱 This is why rainforest protection matters.
🌱 This is why stronger anti‑poaching action is essential.
🌱 This is why we must keep fighting.

By protecting habitats, supporting conservation efforts, and raising awareness, we can give these extraordinary creatures a chance to survive—and thrive—in the wild where they belong.

Let’s be the voice they don’t have. Let’s protect what remains.

RainforestProtectorsTrust.org

25/03/2026

Sri Lanka isn’t just a biodiversity hotspot — it’s a living, breathing masterpiece of evolution. Watch these 15 extraordinary bird species that remind us why protecting our rainforests is so important.

🦜 From the jewel‑bright Sri Lanka Blue Magpie to the elusive Serendib Scops Owl, these species exist nowhere else on Earth.

🦅 Some glide through ancient canopies, others hide in the shadows of dense undergrowth — each one a testament to the magic of our island’s wild places.

🐦 And many of them are under threat as their habitats shrink.

At Rainforest Protectors Trust, we’re working every day to safeguard the last remaining fragments of Sri Lanka’s lowland rainforests — the only home these birds have ever known.

Birds of Sri Lanka – 15 Strange Species You Won’t Believe Exist🌴 From misty mountain forests to steamy lowland jungles, Sri Lanka is home to bird species fo...

18/03/2026

"සිංහරාජ වනයෙහි අනාගතය අවට ගම්වාසීන්ගේ ක්‍රියාකාරකම් මත පිහිටා ඇති බව සියවසකට ආසන්න කාලයක් ජීවත් වූ ජිනෝරිස් මහතාගේ කථාවෙන් අපට පැහැදිළි විය. ලංකාගම පාසැලේ නැවතී සිටි කාලය තුලදී, තුවක්කු කරපින්නාගෙන වනය තුලට රිංගූ කිහිප දෙනෙකු අපි දුටුවෙමු. එම පාසැල අවට ඉස්මත්තේ වූ වනය කපා තේ ගස් රෝපනය කර ඇති බව අපට පෙනිණ. තේ වැවීම සඳහා වනය කෙමෙන් කෙමෙන් කපා දමා ඇති ආකාරයද අපි දුටිමු. ගම්මුන්ගේ අවශ්‍යතා සඳහා යැයි පවසමින් දේශපාලඥයින්ගේ සහයෝගයෙන් විශාල මාර්ගයක් (නෙළුව - දෙනියාය ) තැනෙන බව අපගේ දැනගැනීමට ලක්විය. සිංහරාජ අඩවි වනය ලෝකයෙහි ඉපැරණිම වනයක් වන අතර, වනය අසලින් මහා මාර්ගයක් තැනීම හොර දැව ජාවාරම්කරුවන්ට අතදීමක් නොවන බව කිව හැක්කේ කාටද?" - මැකී යන වනපෙත් ( ඩග්ලස් බී රණසිංහ, 1987 මාර්තු මස ) පිටු අංක 108, 109