Restoring Rainforests, Engaging Communities

Protecting the
Cloud Forests of Sri Lanka

Land Owners Restore Rainforests in Sri Lanka (LORRIS) works directly with local landowners to reconnect fragmented montane evergreen canopy corridors—safeguarding the critically endangered Montane Slender Loris.

Learn More About Us

< 100

Mature Montane Loris Remaining

76 km²

Extent of Occurrence

28 km²

Area of Occupancy

Species Focus

Montane Slender Loris

Loris tardigradus nycticeboides — An extreme habitat specialist found only in the undisturbed montane evergreen forests of Nuwara Eliya and Horton Plains.

Status: Critically Endangered

Restricted exclusively to high-elevation cloud forests above 1,800m altitude.

Conservation Status

With fewer than 100 mature individuals estimated in the wild, the Montane slender loris is facing imminent threat due to high-altitude tea plantation encroachment, habitat fragmentation, and road strikes.

Canopy Corridors Solution

Because lorises are strictly arboreal and rarely walk on open ground, LORRIS works with private land owners to construct and preserve natural continuous canopy bridges across tea estates and mountain roads.

Nocturnal Field Research

Our teams utilize specialized non-invasive red-light camera traps and thermal tracking to monitor canopy bridge usage and catalog surviving individuals.

Our Pillars of Action

What We Do

Integrating scientific conservation, private landowner agreements, and community engagement across Sri Lanka’s wet zone.

Flagship Program

Conservation & Replanting

Sri Lanka's wet zone retains just 8% of its original primary forest. LORRIS operates community plant nurseries that cultivate native montane trees (*Dipterocarpus*, *Acronychia*). We partner with tea estate owners to replant and reconnect isolated forest islands so loris populations can safely migrate and exchange genes.

Education

School environmental programmes that empower the younger generation in Nuwara Eliya and Kandy to appreciate endemic biodiversity. We set up fruit gardens, organize rainforest field trips, and establish activity rooms in local schools.

Community Programs

Empowering local forest communities with sustainable alternatives: nature-based eco-tourism training, health camps, organic tea buffer farming, and native tree sapling sales that generate direct household income.

Explore Community Impact

Research

Continuous nocturnal field surveys and camera-trap monitoring of slender lorises, endemic amphibians, and birds. Findings are published in international peer-reviewed journals and shared with local wildlife authorities.

View Loris Publications

Consultation

Training and technical capacity building that tackles environmental issues hindering tea estate sustainability. We advise land managers on zero-pesticide buffer zones and eco-friendly canopy bridge maintenance.

Guided Tours

Specialized nocturnal wildlife walks and cloud forest tours led by LORRIS-trained local nature guides. Visitors learn firsthand about slender loris behavior while directly supporting field conservation.

Protecting the
Cloud Forests of Sri Lanka