THE Jamaica Environmental Advocacy Network (JEAN) has thrown its support behind the recommendation of Parliament’s select committee on Economy and Production that areas of ecological importance should be closed to mining.

The report further says that the Cockpit Country may be one of those areas where the cost of mining bauxite is greater than the benefits. The report of the committee dated December 2008 calls for such areas to be identified and a plan developed to generate alternate economic alternatives.

JEAN has been advocating the closure of the Cockpit Country to mining and prospecting and for its designation as a protected area since 2006.

“In early 2007, the Honourable Roger Clarke, the previous Minister of Agriculture and Lands, suspended prospecting licences that had been granted in Cockpit Country and commissioned a study to determine the boundary of the area. Almost two years later, the study has still not been released to the public,” said JEAN – a network of individuals, community and environmental groups and scientists working together to protect Jamaica’s environment through advocacy and information-sharing – in a release to the media. “According to a letter dated October 29, 2008 from the Mines and Geology Division, that agency was making arrangements for an internal review of the report which would involve the consultants who prepared the report, the minister and the permanent secretary.”

“We hope that the governmental authorities responsible for mining will implement this recommendation of the Committee and we continue to await further news on the result of the boundary study for Cockpit Country,” added Danielle Andrade, legal director of the Jamaica Environment Trust and JEAN member.

Noted the release: “JEAN calls on the Prime Minister to follow through on his promise to protect the Cockpit Country from mining and other activities which threaten this unique natural area by declaring the area closed to mining and prospecting under the Mining Act and designating it as a protected area under the Natural Resources and Conservation Authority Act.”