Filipinos who want to contribute to environmental preservation can now conveniently use an innovative mobile phone app to help plant trees and increase the Philippines’ forest cover.
One of the country’s leading mobile wallet, GCash is introducing an exciting “green” feature on the app dubbed as GCash Forest, which lets subscribers plant virtual trees that will have real-life counterparts. By the end of one year, GCash Forest aims to plant 365 thousand trees with the help of GCash subscribers.
According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Forest Management Bureau (FMB), the Philippines is losing 47,000 hectares of forest cover every year. The FMB also reported the need to rehabilitate 1.2 million hectares of forest lands by 2022 to prevent landslides, ensure water availability, and preserve biodiversity.
“GCash Forest is about making it easier, more convenient, and even rewarding for everyone to take care of our environment for the benefit of future generations,” said Mynt CEO Anthony Thomas. “GCash is no longer just providing an excellent platform for accessible financial products and services but also enabling Filipinos to be more active in responding to real-life issues, such as climate change mitigation through reforestation.”
To plant trees through GCash Forest, GCash users need to collect “green energy” by frequently using the app. Users who get enough green energy can choose which species of trees they want to plant in a selected area at the Ipo watershed. Once the trees are physically planted, users get to receive a certificate of ownership with a serial number, fun facts, and updates on the growth of their trees on their GCash apps.
“Many Filipinos, especially the younger ones, care about the environment, but a lot of them don’t know how they can actively take part in environmental protection. This is a barrier that GCash Forest addresses because they only need to use their smartphones—an already integral part of their daily lives—to make a difference,” concluded Anthony.
“The GCash Forest shows digital technology holds a huge power to mobilize people in support of sustainable development and the fight against climate change. And this power goes beyond the border and is at our fingertips through our mobile devices,” said Ant Financial’s Global Head of International Partnerships Yan Meng. “We’re more than happy to open up our technology and expertise to current and potential partners to make the world a better place.”
