<!-- wp:image {"id":1886} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/08/cockpit-country-1024x600.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1886" /><figcaption>Local celebrities have joined the fight to stop mining in the Cockpit Country. </figcaption></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Bounty Killa, Mr. Vegas, Queen Ifrica and Kabaka
Pyramid are amongst the many celebrities that have joined the coalition to
protect the Cockpit Country from mining.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":1900} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/08/kabaka-pyramid4-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1900" /><figcaption>Kabaka Pyramid is among entertainers speaking against mining in the Cockpit Country. (Photo courtesy Facebook/Kabaka Pyramid)</figcaption></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The Cockpit Country is a wet limestone forest spanning the parishes of Trelawney and St. Elizabeth. It is home to many endemic plants and animals such as the Jamaican Swallowtail and the Jamaican boa. In the 1700s, the Maroons fled slavery and escaped to the Cockpit Country where they formed communities that were not controlled by the Spanish and British colonists.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>So why are the celebs supporting the efforts to
stop bauxite mining? Here are five reasons:</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} -->
<ol><li>The Cockpit Country covers five watersheds that supply major rivers. The clean water is supplied by the forest and any contamination from mining will threaten an estimated 40 per cent of all Jamaica’s underground water sources.</li></ol>
<!-- /wp:list -->

<!-- wp:list -->
<ul><li>The forest includes a large diversity of plants and animals some of
which cannot be found anywhere else in the world but Jamaica. The Jamaican
government signed the 1992 UN Convention on Biodiversity making a commitment to
protect its unique natural resources.</li></ul>
<!-- /wp:list -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":1888} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/08/jamaican-boa-.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1888" /><figcaption>The Jamaican Boa are one of several species of animal found only in the Cockpit Country. (Photo courtesy of Hope Zoo)</figcaption></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:list -->
<ul><li>The Cockpit Country is a historic site. The Maroons used the terrain as tactical advantage over the British in the 18<sup>th</sup> century. To this day, they still live in communities such as Accompong Town. An annual celebration is held every year on Jan 6 at Accompong in St Elizabeth.</li></ul>
<!-- /wp:list -->

<!-- wp:list -->
<ul><li>Known as a research hub. There are many studies conducted and still
ongoing on the wide variety of plants, birds, reptiles, mammals, invertebrates
and amphibians that call this forest home.</li></ul>
<!-- /wp:list -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":1889} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/08/jerk-pork.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1889" /><figcaption>Jerk pork is said to have originated with Maroons. </figcaption></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:list -->
<ul><li>It was in the Cockpit country that jerk pork originated. That’s right. The Maroons prepared meat for storage without creating smoke that the British military could see. The cultural, biological and geographical significance of the Cockpit country cannot be denied. It is no wonder so many people are fighting to protect this one of a kind forest reserve.</li></ul>
<!-- /wp:list -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->