Opposition Spokesperson on Land Environment and Mining, Senator Sophia Frazer-Binns has called for urgent legislative protection of the Cockpit Country Protected Area as well as the establishment of buffer zones. 

Senator Frazer-Binns is also calling on the government to establish a multisectoral/multidisciplinary committee to explore alternatives to bauxite mining.   

The Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) has granted a permit for the mining of lands that are part of the Cockpit Country in St. Ann, via Special Mining Lease 173. 

In a statement today (January 4), Mrs. Frazer-Binns noted that although the permit is for a smaller parcel of land than requested, the decision of the environmental regulator is counter to its mandate to protect and preserve Jamaica’s environment, including the sensitive and important Cockpit Country.

She said the Cockpit Country must be off-limits to the ravages and degradation that mining causes to the environment. 

The opposition spokesperson remains firm on the position that there should be no mining in the Cockpit Country.