The fate of the famous rubber trees that line the Philbert Pierre Avenue roadway in Mabaruma, in Region One, are in the hands of the town’s residents, who will decide by way of a survey if the trees will be removed to facilitate the expansion of the road.
The proposal to cut down all the trees to facilitate the expansion was revealed during a consultation meeting held between residents and the Ministry of Public Infrastructure project engineer several weeks ago. However, according to the Mayor of Mabaruma Chris Phang, only a “handful” of residents were present at the consultation.
Before that consultation, he added, the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) had already made the decision to cut down the trees without consulting the town’s council. “We only heard about the decision. We weren’t involved in the decision making,” he further added before saying that after receiving backlash from some of the town’s residents who opposed the decision, a consultation was held and the few residents who attended the consultation agreed with the RDC and proposed that they replant the rubber-trees at another location.
However, according to Phang, over the years, residents of the town had made numerous attempts to plant rubber trees. All their attempts failed, so the only successful rubber-tree planting exercise is the one done by Pierre, who planted the trees about a century ago. “Those trees that were planted by Pierre are the only ones that were successful,” he noted.
The mayor then revealed that after the proposal to cut down all the trees became public, a decision was made to conduct a survey to see how many of the residents opposed or supported the proposal. He said that after deliberations, he decided to leave the decision to the people and so if the majority of residents supports the proposal, then the trees will have to be removed.
However, he said, he hopes that other stakeholders will get involved in the decision-making, while noting that safety was one of the reasons cited at the consultation. He added that while the trees posed no real-threat to residents, it would ease their minds if they knew how old the trees are and if they are hollow. He said regardless of the outcome of the survey, he hopes the relevant authorities step in.
Further, Phang said there are other alternatives to what was proposed. “We can build a road without cutting down those tress, which have been a part of our community for generations,’’ he said. He noted that the first thing visitors often say when they visit the community is that they can’t wait to go and look at the trees. “I think it’s a vital part of the community,” he added.
In conclusion, he said construction of the road has already begun but it hasn’t reached the area where the trees are and he is yet to sit with the council to determine a way forward.
Meanwhile, the proposal has sparked outrage from the public after it was made. Several persons who spoke with this newspaper opposed the proposal for several reasons.
“I never been there but if I were them I would never think about doing that because look what happening in the world now: climate change, global warming. Is only trees that can save we and they wanna cut down them down,” Andrea Persaud said.
Another, Ryan Latchman, echoed her statements, saying that the residents should consider global warming and other related issues when it comes to the removal of trees for the sake of development. “Development is not everything but for some it may be necessary but I would beg them that if they want a better road they should try preserving in the process. I know nobody like bad roads but places look more nice when you can see trees and they should consider climate change as well. We should not be cutting down ‘wild west,’ especially after what happen in the Amazon. Anyway I hope they make the right decision,” he said.
Meanwhile, Neil Fraser said that the mere fact that those trees have been there for a 100 years or more should be reason enough for the residents to be against such an idea. “I hear about it and some people I know who went there saying it nice. I don’t think it’s a good idea because of everything going on in the world and the trees been there before half them people born and that should be a reason why they should not doing,” he said.
A resident of the town, Brian Paul, said that he is opposed to the proposal because he has lived in the community all his life and for him the trees represent a lifetime of memories. “I remember as I child, I used to be so fascinated with those trees and me and my friends would play near them all the time,” he recalled. He added that when he heard about the proposal, he got very upset and is now trying to convince other people to oppose the idea.
After the proposal was made public, an online “Save the Rubber Trees of Mabaruma! No cutting” petition was created. While the petition, which was signed by 1,976 persons as of yesterday, was reportedly delivered to Deputy Mayor of the town, Phang, however said, that up to yesterday the deputy had not given him anything.
“We, environmentally aware citizens of Guyana, are extremely alarmed at recent reports that the rubber trees of Philbert Pierre Avenue, Mabaruma, are under threat of being cut down in order to expand the roadway. This MUST NOT be allowed to happen,” the petition states.
In addition, it says the trees, which are providing a very important service to the residents of Mabaruma by producing oxygen, are “an iconic part” of the town, which is memorable to residents and visitors of the town. The petition also addressed the proposal of replanting the rubber trees. “Science has shown that on a tree by tree basis, elderly trees like the Philbert Pierre rubber trees of Mabaruma are carbon “vacuums”, absorbing more carbon than younger trees. It is imperative that these trees be safeguarded and not destroyed in order to expand the roadway. We call on the Mayor of Mabaruma, the Minister of Communities, the Minister of Public Infrastructure, the project engineer, and all other relevant authorities to find an alternate route and/or build around these trees,” it adds.
