Jamaican Dry Forests

Jamaica was never connected to another land mass because it emerged from the ocean during the Mid-miocene period, hence Jamaica's great deal of endemic species. Many of these are species are housed in the Jamaican Dry Forest. Unfortunately, said flora and fauna are threatened because of population growth, ecotourism and agriculture expansion.

In Jamaica, Tropical Dry Forests are usually found on very shallow mineral soil or on large areas of bare limestone, meaning that they have completely different ecological and edaphic characteristics than dry forests found in continental America (Loveless and Asprey, 1957). Such attributes largely reduce the agricultural potential of most Jamaican Tropical Dry Forests, and they have a unique land-use history as a result. Jamaican Tropical Dry Forests are primarily used as a source of wood for charcoal production and building materials. While this disturbance is common in the Caribbean, very few studies have been conducted that examine the long-term negative effects this may have on dry forest structure and resilience.

The Jamaican government has sought to establish a protected area network containing 40 parks and reserves; however, these are largely underfunded, unmanaged, unmonitored, and neither hunting nor habitat encroachment are effectively controlled (Stattersfield et al. 1998). Staff shortages in these agencies are common and fines for violators of environmental legislation-following successful prosecution- minimal. Several times in the country's recent history, the state has attempted and failed to develop a protected natural habitat for the dry forests due to negligible public and political support.