The Cockpit Country is home to 95% of Jamaica's endemic black-billed parrots. Photo � Wendy Lee.

Save Cockpit Country, Jamaica

Target:
The Hon. Orette Bruce Golding, M.P, Prime Minister of Jamaica
Sponsored by: 

Cockpit Country is a mountainous, forested area of western Jamaica, rich in biodiversity and home to the Leeward Maroons of Jamaica.  Its landscape of steep-sided hills and deep, round valleys eroded from the limestone bedrock is an outstanding example of karst topography.  The wet limestone forest of Cockpit Country is Jamaica's largest remaining primary forest and a refuge for rare Jamaican animals such as the Black-billed parrot and the Giant Swallow-tail butterfly, and more than 60 endemic plants.  While the Land of Look Behind is famous in Jamaican history, each scientific expedition reveals more natural wonders of this 'biodiversity hotspot' and secrets of its Taino and Maroon heritage.  A renewed interest in prospecting for bauxite and limestone in the Cockpit Country has sparked a campaign led by a wide cross-section of local and overseas Jamaicans - the Cockpit Country Stakeholders' - to protect this unique area.  Mining in Cockpit Country would destroy the natural, cultural and archaeological resources of Cockpit Country that are virtually untapped as a source of sustainable livelihoods, especially eco- and heritage tourism, for many rural communities of Jamaica.

Cockpit Country is a mountainous, forested area of western Jamaica, rich in biodiversity and home to the Leeward Maroons of Jamaica.  Its landscape of steep-sided hills and deep, round valleys eroded from the limestone bedrock is an outstanding example of karst topography.  The wet limestone forest of Cockpit Country is Jamaica's largest remaining primary forest and a refuge for rare Jamaican animals such as the Black-billed parrot and the Giant Swallow-tail butterfly, and more than 60 endemic plants.  While the Land of Look Behind is famous in Jamaican history, each scientific expedition reveals more natural wonders of this 'biodiversity hotspot' and secrets of its Taino and Maroon heritage.  A renewed interest in prospecting for bauxite and limestone in the Cockpit Country has sparked a campaign led by a wide cross-section of local and overseas Jamaicans - the Cockpit Country Stakeholders' - to protect this unique area.  Mining in Cockpit Country would destroy the natural, cultural and archaeological resources of Cockpit Country that are virtually untapped as a source of sustainable livelihoods, especially eco- and heritage tourism, for many rural communities of Jamaica.


1. We call on the Prime Minister of Jamaica to ensure that the Cockpit Country and environs, as described by the Cockpit Country Stakeholders%u2019 Group, is declared CLOSED to mining and commercial prospecting. 

2. We urge the Government of Jamaica to take steps to declare the Cockpit Country a Protected National Area as a matter of priority, as stipulated in the 1997 Policy for a National System of Protected Areas in Jamaica. 

3. As organisations and individuals interested in the conservation of Jamaica%u2019s unique natural and cultural heritage, we wish to see the Cockpit Country protected and managed as a World Heritage Site.
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We signed the "Save Cockpit Country, Jamaica" petition!
# 3,815:
7:36 am PST, Nov 3, Name not displayed, Jamaica
# 3,814:
1:30 pm PST, Nov 1, Name not displayed, Jamaica
# 3,813:
12:50 pm PST, Nov 1, Michelle Smith, Jamaica
The Cockpit Country should be protected from mining because it is one of Jamaica's last untouched forest. We are quickly running out of natural habitats as the governments greed for quick money continues to consume them. As they continue to sell Jamaica away to foreigners, what will the Jamaican people have? Further more it is of great historical value, the land belongs rightfully to the Maroons and it should not have been a thought in the first place to consider mining there. The mining industry is also declining and once the land has been destroyed it is not reversible. And the foremost important thing is the hundreds of species of animals and plants that live no where else and it is a treasure that Jamaica must keep. The Cockpit Country is the last refuge for animals to have any hope of survival. The government must stop selling away Jamaica.

I am a Jamaican, born and raised, and it is important for all of us to protect what is ours.

# 3,812:
4:22 pm PDT, Oct 18, Natalee Haye, Jamaica
# 3,811:
12:25 am PDT, Oct 18, Becky Clayton, Texas
# 3,810:
2:26 am PDT, Oct 15, Damian Bazaniak, Poland
# 3,809:
6:23 am PDT, Oct 13, Grzegorz Kałka, Poland
# 3,808:
3:49 am PDT, Oct 13, Łukasz Anioła, Poland
# 3,807:
2:00 am PDT, Oct 13, Weronika Kubica, Poland
# 3,806:
1:35 pm PDT, Oct 5, Name not displayed, Jamaica
# 3,805:
8:32 am PDT, Oct 2, Avril Kettle, United Kingdom
# 3,804:
2:52 pm PDT, Sep 23, Niki Lyn, Jamaica
# 3,803:
12:56 am PDT, Sep 23, Lyhann O'Shaughnessy, Mexico
# 3,802:
3:16 pm PDT, Sep 17, Lawrence Rowe, Jamaica
The cockpit country holds too great an environmental impact on the climatic conditions of our beloved island home it would be a disgrace to mine out one of the worlds largest areas for dynamism in species. Sometimes we have to just leave nature as it is to truly enjoy its beauty and save some of these precious animals for our kids to see them for real. I am totally against the bauxite company mining out the cockpit country no matter the economic benefits to be gained. I would rather live poor than not have the oppurtunity to enjoy the beauty of my island, Jamaica: "The land of wood and water".
# 3,801:
6:55 am PDT, Sep 17, PATRICK PRYCE, United Kingdom
# 3,800:
5:35 pm PDT, Sep 16, Janette Mathews, Idaho
# 3,799:
4:17 am PDT, Sep 14, S P, South Africa
Cockpit country should be saved because it is a unique area in terms of bio-diversity. Jamaicans should turn towards providing more services, such as health care for tourists,etc. The world is not treating us fairly by opting to buy Australian bauxite more than ours. We should partially legalise ganja and cultivate it only for medicinal purposes, and then it will be a special commodity to Jamaica, making it able for us to sell at a high price and at the same time I believe it will be in high demand. Our very own 'caviar' so to speak.

I am a Jamaican. JA to di worl'!!!

# 3,798:
10:22 am PDT, Sep 12, Dan Kauffman, Florida
Mining is ephemeral. Lets hope the Cockpit is not.

I travel to Jamaica.

# 3,797:
9:08 am PDT, Sep 3, Roberto Angarita Vargas, Colombia
# 3,796:
3:37 am PDT, Sep 2, Arun Mahesh, Pakistan
# 3,795:
2:51 am PDT, Sep 1, Charmaine Gonzalez, Philippines
# 3,794:
8:27 am PDT, Aug 31, Ashley Bridges, Maryland
SAVE COCKPIT COUNTRY!!
# 3,793:
1:29 am PDT, Aug 30, Elizabeth Belflower, Alabama
there are very few beautiful spots left on this planet as it is

none just concerned

# 3,792:
10:45 pm PDT, Aug 28, Ralph Xx, Germany
What about using your brain?
# 3,791:
5:46 pm PDT, Aug 27, Joan For Peace, Tennessee
# 3,790:
5:09 am PDT, Aug 26, Kadyan Naresh, India
# 3,789:
4:49 am PDT, Aug 26, Elaine Robinson, United Kingdom
SAVE PROTECT COCKPIT MANY BEAUTIFUL DARLINGS LIVE IN THIS FORESTED AREA

STUFF MINING - THEY AV DESTROYED ENOUGH WITHOUT STARTING ELSEWHERE

# 3,788:
10:44 am PDT, Aug 24, Amelia Irish, Florida
# 3,787:
7:25 am PDT, Aug 24, Candace Pfau, Florida
Please save what green we have left from big mining industry.
# 3,786:
7:41 pm PDT, Aug 23, Funky eCo Chrystalina, Ohio
# 3,785:
12:36 am PDT, Aug 23, Roxanne Ganley, Florida
# 3,784:
2:00 pm PDT, Aug 22, Aliz Szappanos, United Kingdom
# 3,783:
8:54 am PDT, Aug 22, Susan Suni Ibarra, California
We need to work HARD to save the beautiful wild life on this planet from man and his global warming, and all the damage we do in so very many other ways. Deforestation is is one of the most horrid things we have done and still do.. This continent of North America was once covered from shore to shore in forests. Look at us NOW!!!!!! This is my greatest agony!!!!!!! We have to stop this unbelievably selfish and unthinkable horror NOW!!!!!!! Clear cutting forests till they no longer exists, destroys SO MANY innocent, defenseless will creatures of ALL kinds and species, down to the tiniest bugs!!!!! The entire ecosystem is disturbed and destroyed!!!!!! WE HAVE TO STOP THIS NOWWW!!!!!!!!!!!
# 3,782:
3:39 pm PDT, Aug 21, Jean-Luc PALAZOTTO, France
# 3,781:
11:16 pm PDT, Aug 20, Anja Vimpolsek, Slovenia
# 3,780:
4:51 pm PDT, Aug 20, Richelle Rausch, Washington
# 3,779:
3:26 pm PDT, Aug 20, Ken Wright, Washington
# 3,778:
2:22 pm PDT, Aug 20, Cecilia Chiale, Argentina
# 3,777:
2:02 pm PDT, Aug 20, Tamra Herman, South Dakota
# 3,776:
9:35 am PDT, Aug 20, Name not displayed, Netherlands
# 3,775:
8:52 pm PDT, Aug 19, Valerie Hildebrand, Canada
# 3,774:
6:30 pm PDT, Aug 19, Kathleen Hilliker, Arizona
# 3,773:
6:01 pm PDT, Aug 19, Jen Dowdy, Kentucky
# 3,772:
3:43 pm PDT, Aug 19, Jelica Roland, Croatia
# 3,771:
9:35 am PDT, Aug 19, Name not displayed, Ohio
# 3,770:
9:02 am PDT, Aug 19, Joana Peixoto, Portugal
# 3,769:
8:27 am PDT, Aug 19, Margaret Hartley, Washington
# 3,768:
7:19 am PDT, Aug 19, Susan Hall - Amado, Canada
# 3,767:
8:45 pm PDT, Aug 18, Alan Haggard, California
# 3,766:
6:06 pm PDT, Aug 18, Penny Stone, California
# 3,765:
5:12 pm PDT, Aug 18, Laura Horning, Ohio
# 3,764:
4:15 pm PDT, Aug 18, Mary Hockett, Alabama
# 3,763:
3:34 pm PDT, Aug 18, Name not displayed, Brazil
# 3,762:
2:37 pm PDT, Aug 18, Roy Cee, Oregon
# 3,761:
2:14 pm PDT, Aug 18, Kelly Cleveland, Colorado
# 3,760:
2:11 pm PDT, Aug 18, Pikake Quebatay, Hawaii
Cockpit Country is a landmark and a natural beauty of Jamaica. It sits well alone and left to the original beauty of Jamaica. As I visited Jamaica this Feburary, I realized the misconception that Jamaica has in some parts turned into a ghetto paradise. What is left of her beauty and maybe even her wonder lies in the eyes of the land and its people. Please respect the natural island beauty of why people from around the world come to visit this exotic island. We must look upon the animals and the wildlife to be preserved, as we know it is a refuge for most endemic plants and rare jamaican animals. Why, this is their home, their sanctuary and all they have left, although they do not have the tossled minds of man, they look to the people to take a stand. Natural beauty and Preservation to survive the bountiful beauty of Jamaica is a sure issue to stand upright for. Please consider these words, although they are few, they are power and they are hope, for the rescue of culture, heritage and sustainable livelihood.

Aloha, My name is Pikake Quebatay and I am to be married soon to my fiancee Kriston Clarke, who resides in Linstead, Jamaica. Coming also from an island style of living, the elders always taught us to respect the land, because it is what feeds and sustains us. And, well as I have visited Jamaica, I have walked eerie streets of a poverty stricken ghetto paradise. If you are rich in Jamaica, you are well off to enjoy the beautiful sites of the island as Jamaica caters to the travel and tourism industry. But I see the richness of this island does not come from money, but from the richness of the land and its people. Although the physical eye can decieve any foreigner, It is with the heart you must look upon this matter, for where the heart is, there youre treasure will also be. Please consider my comments, for they are truly, madly and deeply encased to a government of power, respectfully and with hope to safeguard Cockpit Country. Thank You

# 3,759:
12:58 pm PDT, Aug 18, Annmarie Devine, Ireland
# 3,758:
11:45 am PDT, Aug 18, Karen Ericson, Washington
# 3,757:
10:33 am PDT, Aug 18, Pamylle Greinke, New York
# 3,756:
9:24 am PDT, Aug 18, Haviland R Gordineer, Tennessee
# 3,755:
9:24 am PDT, Aug 18, Ruth S., Germany
# 3,754:
8:40 am PDT, Aug 18, Mariska Catsman-Okkersen, Netherlands
# 3,753:
8:39 am PDT, Aug 18, Tammy Reynolds, Colorado
# 3,752:
8:28 am PDT, Aug 18, Lilith Diamond, Italy
# 3,751:
8:02 am PDT, Aug 18, Gwen Moore, Maryland
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