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Tuesday, July 2, 2019

GCash Forest App Launched in the Philippines, Eyes 365 Thousand Trees Planted in 365 Days

Ceremonial tree-planting participated by (from l-r), Chris Manguera Mynt Chief  Marketing Officer, Joel Palma World Wildlife Fund President and CEO, Anthony Thomas Mynt President and CEO, Titon Mitra UNDP Resident Representative to the Philippines, and Reyner Villasenor GCash Vice President for Corporate Communications, during the GCash Forest launch on June 25, 2019 at the Green Sun in Makati City.

Leading mobile wallet, GCash, recently launched 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. 

“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.

GCash subscribers plant virtual trees that will have real-life counterparts.

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. 

“As we work on rehabilitating the Ipo watershed and securing Metro Manila’s water supply, partnering with GCash enables us to continue rallying a vast network who could grow our movement of restoring our forests and protecting our biodiversity," said Joel Palma-President, WWF-Philippines

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.

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. 

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. Simply download the GCash App using Google Play and the App Store on your mobile phones.

Middle of the forest ambiance at the GCash Forest Launch. Watch video:



Posted by Arabelle Jimenez




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