| Fast Facts |
location
130 miles northwest of Kingston
ecoregion
Jamaican Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forest
project size
372 square miles
public lands
Cockpit Country Forest Reserve
partners
Jamaica Forestry Department, South Trelawny Environmental Agency, Windsor Research Centre
conservancy initiatives
Freshwater, Invasive Species | |
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With 5,000 hillocks and valleys rippling across the land, Cockpit Country has been nearly impenetrable for humans - good news for Jamaica's most pristine forests. |
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The rolling hillocks and valleys of Cockpit Country.
© Jake Rajs |
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The distinctive terrain and unique inhabitants of Cockpit Country are products of the passage of time. Millions of years of limestone erosion in the region have sculpted a topography of rounded peaks and steep-sided valleys underlain by a complex network of caves. Because of the island's genetic isolation during most of its geologic history, this strange terrain harbors a highly diverse array of plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth.
Cockpit Country's thousands of depressions -- dubbed "cockpits" by the British in the 17th century for their resemblance to cockfighting arenas -- drain abundant rainfall through porous bedrock and sinkholes. Spring-fed streams wind through caverns, emerging at the coast as three major rivers - the Great, Black and Martha Brae - collectively the source of 40 percent of Jamaica's fresh water. Native bats like the imperiled Jamaican flower bat roost in the region's 300 caves, some housing colonies of 50,000 creatures. |
Giant swallowtail butterfly.
© Thomas Emmel |
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One of the largest remaining stands of moist broadleaf forest that once blanketed Central Jamaica is found in the hillocks and valleys of Cockpit Country. The interior bursts with a profusion of ferns, orchids and bromeliads; overhead, the air is filled with rare butterflies and 79 resident species of birds like the black-billed parrot, which is seldom seen outside Cockpit |
| Country. The island's largest land predator, the Jamaican boa, steals along the forest floor in search of the rodents, insects and reptiles that are its prey. | |
Cockpit Country's rugged terrain and thick vegetation have made much of it inaccessible to humans, and today the ecosystem remains largely intact. The Jamaica Forestry Department manages most of the area as a forest reserve. But economic ventures such as yam cultivation and limestone mining are toppling forests and causing soil to erode into waterways, degrading water quality. Working with partners in local communities, The Nature Conservancy is exploring alternative sources of income that are less environmentally damaging, such as ecotourism and growing plants for the horticultural industry.
Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's work in Jamaica. |
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| Conservation Profile |
targets
wet limestone forest, karst freshwater ecosystems, cave communities, tank epiphyte ecosystems, land snails, giant swallowtail butterfly, Jamaican blackbird, yellow boa constrictor
stresses
unsustainable agricultural practices, habitat destruction due to mining and a planned highway
strategies
foster sustainable forestry practices on public and private lands, reduce soil erosion, promote ecotourism and other compatible development, engage community, public education and co-managment
results
200,000 acres in conservation management, first site selected by USAID for Parks in Peril program | | | | |
