Page 11 - 10th Annual International Charles Town Maroon Conference and Festival Magazine

Charles Town Maroon International Conference Magazine June 2018

Aluminum is relatively inexpensive compared to In 1950, Cockpit Country was declared a Forest
other metals and materials, a reason why it has become Reserve. In 1991, the Natural Resources Conservation
ubiquitous and the fabric of 20th century modernity. It Authority Act was made law. Various environmental
is cheap is because the raw materials required for NGOs concerned with amongst other things protecting
aluminum production came from countries that were Cockpit Country were founded: 1989, Northern
controlled by colonial governments, and/or politically Jamaica Conservation Association; 1991, Jamaica
very weak and economically poor. Environment Trust; 1996, South Trelawny
Environmental Agency; 2002, Windsor Research
In the case of Jamaica, the 1947 Mining Act that Center.
governs the bauxite industry was promulgated under
the British colonial government. The act most signifi- In 2006, the existence of prospecting leases for large
cantly made bauxite the property of the Crown, areas of Cockpit Country became known, creating fear
meaning a landowner did not own the minerals in the that mining was imminent, and a coalition called the
soil on her/his property, and the government could Cockpit Country Stakeholders Group was formed to
allow mining whether the landowner consented or not. prevent such mining.
Furthermore, the British allowed the powerful multi-
nationals to extract Jamaican bauxite at the paltry rate In early 2007, as part of this effort, I made a film called
of a shilling a ton (about 25 cents). The post-colonial Cockpit Country - Voices from Jamaica’s Heart which
governments of Jamaica have kept the colonial mining featured a wide range of Jamaicans including Maroon
act intact and continue to prioritize the needs of the leaders, small farmers, environmentalists, school
mining industry over the citizens of Jamaica. children, teachers, community members, and people
from St. Ann who had already been negatively affected
Bauxite can be found in over 25% of Jamaica’s soil,
but over the last 60 plus years most of the high-grade by bauxite mining. The film, which aired on television
bauxite has already been extracted. In Cockpit Country and screened throughout Cockpit Country commu-
there are supposedly large reserves of what the nities, led to a swift and loud public outcry forcing the
government describes as commercial high-grade then Minister of Mining to withdraw the leases and
bauxite and at various times prospecting licenses and declare there would be no mining in Cockpit Country.
mining leases have been granted covering most of Each consequent administration of both the JLP and
Cockpit Country. However, given the rugged terrain the PNP have all promised to protect Cockpit Country.
and far distance from processing plants and ports, it However, it was never clear what was meant by
would be difficult and very expensive to extract and “Cockpit Country”, and there was a general fear that
transport the ore from most of Cockpit Country, with the government would define Cockpit Country in the
the exception of western St. Ann, northern Manchester smallest way, thus allowing mining to continue while
and northern St. Elizabeth where extraction already claiming to protect Cockpit Country.
takes place or could more easily be expanded into.
In 2009, the government commissioned the UWI to
study the various boundaries proposed for Cockpit
Cockpit Country communities have been
concerned to protect their lands. This concern is Country, and in 2013 commissioned a UWI headed
shared with local and international scientists and envi- team to travel across Jamaica to have public consul-
ronmental groups. Together, for decades, they have tations about Cockpit Country, mining, the boundary
been researching, gathering local knowledge, and issue and what should be Cockpit Country’s fate. Their
trying to create awareness about the value of Cockpit published report concluded that residents of Cockpit
Country and the need to protect it. Country did not want mining:

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