Broadcast to air on 22 June, celebrating World Rainforest Day

(London, UK and Warrenton, VA) To mark World Rainforest Day, on Sunday, 22 June 2025, Rainforest Trust will be featured on the BBC Radio 4 Appeal, presented by renowned zoologist, author, and Rainforest Trust patron Mark Carwardine.

In this episode, listeners will hear about the growing threats facing the Amazonian Manatee, an aquatic mammal found only in the Amazon Basin. Its survival is increasingly at risk due to habitat destruction and the intensifying impact of climate-related droughts.

The appeal will air on Sunday, 22 June at 07:54 and 21:25, with a repeat on Thursday, 26 June at 15:27.

In 2023, a severe drought brought Lake Tefé to its lowest level in living memory. Residents said they had never seen the lake, which normally reaches depths of 65 feet, so dramatically reduced. The drought led to massive fish die-offs, stranded boats, and isolated communities. Drought hit the area again in 2024, and the region is still recovering, with fish populations slow to return and families facing increased food insecurity.

“Every year, during the dry season, manatees find a home in this freshwater lake. But it’s no longer the refuge it once was,” says Carwardine.

He continues, “During a severe drought last year, for example, the water level dropped to its lowest ever. Famine hit local families as millions of fish died. Hundreds of pink river dolphins washed ashore. And as shallow channels exposed them to predators and poaching, Amazonian Manatees, too, were among the casualties.”

Donations to the BBC Radio 4 Appeal will support Rainforest Trust’s Brazilian Amazon Fund, which aims to protect 20 million acres of intact forest. That is more than 50 times the size of Greater London. The goal is to raise $40 million by the end of 2026. Thanks to a generous donor, all contributions through the BBC appeal will be matched up to £30,000.

Donate to the Brazilian Amazon Fund

About Rainforest Trust

Since 1988, Rainforest Trust has been working with partners to safeguard imperiled tropical habitats and threatened species by helping to establish protected and conserved areas in partnership with Indigenous and local organizations and communities. To date, Rainforest Trust has helped protect more than 56 million acres of vital habitat across Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region. Rainforest Trust is a nonprofit organization that relies upon the generous support of the public to successfully implement its important conservation action.