FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Chairman of the South Trelawny Environment Agency (STEA) Hugh Dixon is warning that bauxite mining in the Cockpit Country could undermine Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett’s ambition of attracting 10 million visitors annually and generating US$10 billion in tourism earnings within 10 years.

Dixon argues that the Cockpit Country is too important to Jamaica’s long-term economic and environmental security to be placed at risk by an extractive industry. He is of the view that its value extends beyond its natural beauty to water security, agriculture, and the development of nature-based tourism.

“The vision of Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism, is dependent on this landscape being protected. It’s not just about advocacy,” Dixon said. “It’s about prudent development planning that will see us achieve great ideas like the 10×10×10.”

In June this year Bartlett launched his 10x10x10 growth initiative amid at attracting 10 million visitors and generating US$10 billion in tourism earnings over the next 10 years.

Dixon warned that mining could contaminate or disrupt water systems feeding the island’s major rivers, with potential consequences for communities and tourism activity along the coast.

He is urging policymakers to weigh the relatively short-term returns from a finite bauxite industry against the longer-term economic potential of tourism, agriculture, and the country’s water resources.

Dixon noted that Jamaica’s tourism industry is concentrated largely in the west, stretching from Ocho Rios through Montego Bay and Negril and into parts of St Elizabeth. Much of the water supporting these tourism centres, he said, originates in or is associated with the Cockpit Country.

Five major watersheds — the Rio Bueno, Martha Brae, Great River, Montego and Black rivers — are associated with the region and provide critical water resources for western and central Jamaica, he outlined.

The head of STEA therefore sees any expansion of bauxite mining in the area as a potential threat to an industry that currently earns Jamaica about US$4 billion annually and which Bartlett hopes to expand significantly under the 10×10×10 vision.

In contrast, Dixon pointed out that bauxite generates roughly US$600 million annually and is a finite resource, with Jamaica’s remaining reserves expected to last approximately 30 to 40 years at current extraction levels.

He also views the Cockpit Country as central to Jamaica’s efforts to diversify its tourism product beyond the traditional “sun, sea and sand” model. Its distinctive limestone formations, caves, underground aquifers, springs, biodiversity and endemic species, he said, give the area significant potential as a nature-based and inland tourism destination. Its historical and cultural significance further enhances its value, Dixon said.

He argued that the environmental stakes also extend to agriculture, particularly yam production in fertile red soils of the Cockpit Country that support farming communities and contribute to one of Jamaica’s major agricultural exports. He warned that mining could strip away productive soil, displace farmers, and permanently alter the land and water systems on which rural communities depend.

Dixon’s concerns come amid a legal challenge involving Special Mining Lease 173, which extends into the Cockpit Country. He said STEA and other complainants from the Madras-Gibraltar area are involved in the Supreme Court matter, which has been ongoing for nearly two years.

But, he stressed that the broader concerns surrounding the Cockpit Country go beyond the outcome of the case.

“However that case goes, we don’t know. But the issues that I mentioned don’t change,” he said.

Dixon is also calling for bipartisan agreement between the ruling Jamaica Labour Party and the Opposition People’s National Party on the protection of the Cockpit Country, arguing that its importance to Jamaica’s long-term economic and environmental security should transcend political differences.

He said Jamaica cannot simultaneously pursue an ambitious expansion of tourism while compromising the natural systems that sustain the industry.

Dixon is therefore urging policymakers to adopt a long-term development strategy that recognises the Cockpit Country as a critical national asset.