The town of Falmouth on Jamaica’s north coast was founded in the late 1770s and was one of the busiest ports in the region during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Laid out in a grid pattern with graceful public buildings, lively markets and green spaces, Falmouth had piped water before New York City. Located in the parish of Trelawny, where almost 90 plantations grew, manufactured and exported sugar and its by products, Falmouth’s wealth and status was based on the exploitation of enslaved Africans. The buildings were fine examples of Georgian architecture – unparalleled in the rest of the Caribbean - and some still exist today.

Cockpit Country is a rugged, forested area of western Jamaica, rich in biological diversity and home to the Leeward Maroons. The wet limestone forest of Cockpit Country is Jamaica’s largest remaining primary forest and a refuge for rare Jamaican animals such as the Black-billed parrot (scientific name) and the Giant Swallowtail butterfly (scientific name). At least 66 plants are found only in Cockpit Country. Its landscape of steep-sided hills and deep, closed valleys eroded from the limestone bedrock is an outstanding example of karst topography.

Also known as Monkey Island or Princess Island, Pellew Island is one of Jamaica’s small, near-shore islands. Located just off the San San coast near Port Antonio, Pellew Island is an important part of Jamaica’s natural heritage and an iconic image of our northeastern coast.

The island sits at one end of a coral reef, which protects the San San Bay. It is surrounded by healthy sea grass beds and wonderful swimming areas. Jamaicans and visitors alike visit the island by boat, laze on the small beach, snorkel at the nearby reef and generally enjoy the gorgeous setting.

The Jamaica Environment Trust works to keep marine mammals free in the Caribbean sea. We are concerned about the current increase in captive marine mammal facilities in the wider Caribbean, most frequently for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Swim With The Dolphins programmes. These tourist attractions are creating a demand for the capture, transport and trade of live animals, which are being removed from local stocks without sufficient information on the status and viability of those stocks.