PAC condemns deliberate vandalism of newly planted trees along Heroes Highway

A troubling pattern of deliberate vandalism is emerging across some of the country’s most significant public recreational investments, as the Protected Areas Commission (PAC), in collaboration with the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), issues an urgent appeal to the public to cease the ongoing destruction of young trees recently planted along the Heroes Highway.
Despite the installation of protective barricades designed to safeguard these plants during their critical growth phase, reports and field observations have confirmed that individuals are deliberately reaching into these enclosures to break, uproot, or otherwise damage the saplings. Additionally, mesh and wooden materials used for the enclosures are being removed, exposing the trees to cattle traversing the roadway. The agencies have warned that legal action will be pursued against individuals found intentionally damaging public property.

These trees represent a significant investment in Guyana’s “Green Future” under the National Tree Planting Project, a flagship initiative of the Government of Guyana. The project, jointly implemented by the PAC and the GFC, aims to enhance the national landscape while addressing the global challenge of climate change. The trees being planted are more than mere aesthetic additions to roadways; they are vital components of national infrastructure.
The PAC and GFC wish to remind the public that these trees belong to all Guyanese and that acts of vandalism deprive future generations of their environmental heritage.
In a statement, the agencies noted: “We are working tirelessly to build a greener, healthier Guyana, but the success of this project depends on the respect and cooperation of every citizen. We must move from being bystanders to being stewards of our environment.”

Citizens are being urged to desist immediately from interfering with the plants or their protective barricades, report any acts of vandalism to the PAC, the GFC, or the nearest police station, and encourage others to respect and protect shared green spaces. One day after the commissioning of the US$10.8 million Guyana-China Friendship Park on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD), the PAC had raised concern over acts of vandalism affecting the facility’s newly installed sanitary services.
The Commission warned that the actions could lead to serious plumbing failures and may result in the temporary closure of sanitary units to facilitate emergency repairs.
The PAC expresses profound disappointment and concern regarding the misuse and acts of vandalism targeting the newly commissioned sanitary facilities at the Guyana-China Friendship Park, WBD.
Maintenance inspections had revealed severe and deliberate clogging of the sewage system with large quantities of industrial-grade tissue, and most alarmingly, a fish was discovered in a toilet bowl. Such actions may result in significant plumbing failures and can temporarily inconvenience the public by forcing the closure of specific units for emergency repairs.