GCash Introduces “green” feature on the app called GCash Forest as they eye 365 thousand trees planted in 365 days
Times have changed. Mother Earth
needs us and in our own ways we can help her as this is the moment when call
for environmental preservation is at its highest. For Filipinos who want to
contribute to this environmental call, there is a much easier way to do this by
using their mobile. Amazing right? Every Filipinos who want to help can now conveniently
use an innovative mobile phone app to help plant trees and increase the
Philippines’ forest cover.
Leading mobile wallet, GCash, is introducing
an exciting “green” feature on the app called GCash Forest, which lets subscribers
plant virtual trees that will have real-life counterparts. By
the end of 365 days, 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.”
GCash considers GCash Forest as a last
mile initiative that fully recognizes the
emergence of an all-digital Filipino lifestyle.
To implement its tree-planting
initiatives, GCash Forest partnered with the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and The Biodiversity Finance
Initiative (BIOFIN). The DENR will provide land resources in Ipo Watershed, an
essential component of the Angat-Umiray-Ipo
watersheds system supplying 98 percent of Metro Manila’s water. WWF will
be providing trees and manpower while BIOFIN will provide expertise on
monitoring.
Thomas added that recent findings on
the Philippines’ vulnerability to climate-related hazards call for greater
collective action. Results of the Global Peace Index 2019 identified the
Philippines as the most susceptible country to the adverse effects of climate
change. By leveraging the GCash platform and scale, GCash Forest aims to rally
a coalition of individuals, non-government organizations, and international
organizations to meet its 2020 targets.
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 Thomas.
The new feature is inspired by Alipay
Ant Forest, a product operates by Ant Financial, an Alibaba affiliate and the
parent company of the world’s leading payments and lifestyle platform, Alipay.
Via the mobile platform, more than 500 million users have planted 100 million
real trees and advanced a shared vision of sustainable and inclusive
development.
“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 border and is at our
fingertips through our mobile devices,” said Yan Meng, Ant Financial’s Global
Head of International Partnerships. “We’re more than happy to open up our
technology and expertise to current and potential partners to make the world a
better place.”
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