Dry Harbour Mountain petition drive fails to achieve required number of signatures

A petition to protect the Dry Harbour Mountain in St Ann from mining has failed to achieve the required number of signatures which would have prompted an official response from Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

The Jamaica House petition was launched on November 17, with Sunday as the deadline for getting 15 thousand signatures.

However, up to Sunday night it had received only 5,547 signatures.

Those opposed to the mining project have said the mountain range is of ecological importance as it is one of the last pristine dry limestone forests in the Caribbean.

They say the trade-off of 100 jobs for the potential environmental and ecological damage is not worth it.

Bengal Development Limited was granted a licence to mine the area despite the initial refusal by the Natural Resources Conservation Authority and the National Environment and Planning Agency.

A case has been filed in the Supreme Court in an attempt to prevent the commencement of mining.