Cabinet has approved the hiring of a consultant to determine the precise boundaries of the Cockpit Country, an area in Trelawny with an abundance of endemic flora and fauna and home to approximately 73,000 persons.

The Cockpit Country hit the headlines last year after environmental groups resisted Government plans to grant a licence to carry out prospecting in the area.

On December 30, Colonel of the Accompong Maroons in St. Elizabeth, Sidney Peddie, joined the fight, warning the authorities that the Maroons would block any Government plans to open up the area to bauxite companies.

Speaking at Monday's post-Cabinet news conference at Jamaica House, Information and Development Minister, Donald Buchanan, said the consultant would be asked to carry out studies, taking into consideration several criteria to identify the boundaries of the Cockpit Country.

He said Cabinet received a report from Roger Clarke, Minister of Agriculture and Lands, on the deliberations of a Cabinet sub-committee established to examine the country's mineral policy and the granting of exploratory and mining rights across the country.

The Cockpit Country Stake-holders group, comprising several environmentalists, has argued that mining would disturb the ecological balance of the region and could have a negative effect on these species.