In the committee's report, published this month and looking at the economy and production, it has been recommended that the Cockpit Country, specifically, be preserved. The committee agreed that the cost of mining in the area would outweigh the benefits that would accrue from such activities.

JEAN has been advocating for the closure of the Cockpit Country to mining and prospecting and for its designation as a protected area since 2006, because of the area's vast ecological wealth.

Little success

The environmental group's efforts were met with some measure of success in early 2007 when former Agriculture and Lands Minister Roger Clarke heeded public outcry and suspended prospecting licences, granted to explore the inclines of the rugged Cockpit Country.

A study to determine the boundary of the area was also commissioned by the minister. However, the findings of the study are yet to be released to the public.

"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 results of the boundary study for the Cockpit Country," said JEAN spokesperson Danielle Andrade.

The Cockpit Country is home to most of Jamaica's endemic species of plants, animals and insects and is one of two places on Earth where the giant swallowtail butterfly can be found. The other is the John Crow Mountains, also in Jamaica.

Protect the Cockpit Country

"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," the advocates said in a release to the media.