Regrowing Cockpit Country's Forest

Founded in 1996 in Albert Town, STEA has spent three decades protecting Cockpit Country from bauxite mining and unsustainable land use while building an eco-tourism economy around it. Through the 2026 TUI Forest Jamaica partnership, STEA is restoring over 220 hectares of degraded forest reserve, planting 32,000 native broadleaf trees plus 8,000 agroforestry trees, and creating jobs for local residents in its seedling nursery and trail network. Cockpit Country's forest supplies roughly 40 percent of Jamaica's freshwater and shelters a high concentration of endemic species, and STEA also trains farmers in soil and water conservation to reduce pressure on the forest edge.