Blue and John Crow Mountains, Jamaica

Blue and John Crow Mountains, Jamaica Photo gallery

The Blue and John Crow Mountains has become Jamaica’s first World Heritage site, after IUCN evaluated its outstanding natural values.

It is inscribed as a “mixed” natural and cultural World Heritage site and comprises 26,252 hectares of tropical, montane rainforest.

The site is part of the larger Blue and John Crow Mountain ranges, covering approximately 20% of the island’s total landmass.

The World Heritage listing of the Blue and John Crow Mountains recognizes the interaction between its natural and cultural values.

Maroon local communities often used local plants as camouflage during the British occupation.

The site overlaps with one of the world’s 78 most irreplaceable areas for the conservation of amphibian, bird and mammal species.

Half of the flowering plants that grow above 900 to 1000 metres high in the site can’t be found elsewhere in the world.

The buffer zone around the site is needed to ensure the site’s natural values are protected from deforestation and agriculture.

Today Maroons are positively engaged with the site and its management.

Bamboo house located at Ambasabeth, an eco-tourism lodge managed by the Maroons.

www.iucn.org/worldheritage