RAFI and GCash team up for 'virtual to actual' tree-planting in the Visayas

“RAFI is committed to our environmental thrust of ‘greening’ the Philippines through this partnership.  The use of green technology is the way to go in supporting the country’s environmental sustainability efforts, one tree at a time, through our program and we are proud to partner with GCash in this GCash Forest campaign.” ~Ms. Riella Mae Guiogio, President and CEO of RAFI

GCash has forged a partnership with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) to help protect forest lands in the Visayas through GCash Forest.

Through this team-up, GCash users will be able to earn ‘green energy’ points by doing everyday actions that reduce carbon consumption in the real world. More importantly, you get to participate in the campaign by adopting a tree by earning energy points by frequently using the app.

GCash, the leading mobile wallet in the Philippines, has forged a partnership with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) to help protect forest lands in the Visayas through GCash Forest, an initiative that started in 2018 and has since drawn the attention of users to environmental issues facing the country while promoting digital transactions through the mobile wallet app.

GCash and RAFI are both committed to supporting sustainable development in a balanced and integrated manner, with climate change as a primary concern since it affects the entire world and has a direct impact on the environment and biodiversity. 

Both GCash and RAFI believe that this situation can be reversed if appropriate approaches and strategies are implemented in a collaborative and collective manner.  The partnership will support environmentally conscious and civic-minded communities genuinely concerned for the environment.

RAFI, through its One to Tree Program Unit which encourages communities to help protect and rehabilitate the environment, is involved in establishing native tree nurseries and tree plantations in the Province of Cebu. 

“We are very happy to welcome RAFI as our distinguished partner for GCash Forest. This is a very important partnership as it helps us act on the eminent environmental concern of deforestation. With the help of RAFI and our GCash Forest supporters, we aim to continue utilizing the technology to promote reforestation of vital forest lands in the Visayas and in critical areas across the Philippines as well,” said Martha Sazon, President and CEO of GCash.

Through the partnership, GCash users will be able to earn ‘green energy’ points by doing everyday actions that reduce carbon consumption in the real world. This includes activities like using personal tumblers in partner cafes and opting for reusable utensils when ordering food for delivery. 

More importantly, they get to participate in the campaign by adopting a tree by earning energy points by frequently using the GCash app for your everyday transactions such as bank transfers, buying load, paying bills, sending money, and by simply walking. Once enough energy points are acquired, users can then select a tree through the app. A myriad of native trees are offered through the app and all users need to do is acquire the needed energy points to be able to pick a tree to adopt.

If you earn 8,520 energy points, you can get avocado as your adoptive tree, while narra can be yours when you receive a total of 9,411 energy points. Molave, meanwhile, can be planted in your name when you earn 8,410 points and jackfruit can be your own tree when you acquire 6,305 energy points.

Other native trees that you will be able to adopt are guyabano (6,890 energy points) and mamalis (7,324 energy points). These trees can be adopted on your own or with other GCash Forest users. Once a tree is selected for adoption, it will get planted by the RAFI team at either Ipo Dam or Cebu.

Forests, which are an integral part of our ecosystem, are crucial in protecting watersheds, regulating water supply, and providing natural habitat to a number of species, in order to help mitigate climate change.  RAFI has been working hard to make this happen for their adopted forests in the Visayas specifically in the province of Cebu.

With over 33 million GCash users in the country, RAFI believes in the positive impact this new app feature could bring in the protection and restoration of the Cebu forests through sustainability initiatives like this. Both partners are positive everyone can work together to make a more sustainable future a possibility.

For more information on this eco-conscious initiative and a complete list of actions, GCash users can take to earn green energy points, visit www.gcash.com/gforest/.

GCash makes it easier for Green Heroes to digitally plant trees

“Despite a year of massive success for GCash Forest, we still want to make sure user experience remains topnotch to maintain or increase momentum when it comes to the number of trees planted. At the end of the day, our goal is to encourage more people to take part in this campaign to save our environment. These changes will make it easier for our users to plant more trees despite the limits of our current situation. We believe that through GCash Forest, we will be able to make a difference in the environment as we as in our country’s biodiversity. Ultimately, these campaigns can only reach their goal if each and every Filipino do their part in minimizing their carbon footprint and avoiding practices that harm the environment. We believe that GCash Forest will not only benefit this current generation, but also the generations to come.” ~Martha Sazon, GCash President and CEO

Not even the global threat of the COVID-19 pandemic can stop advocates from saving planet Earth, as the number of GCash Forest Green Heroes recently hit an all-time high of 3 million users. Now, GCash Forest users, known as Green Heroes, may collect their Green Energy (GE) in App, which is used to plant the virtual trees, within three days instead of the previous 24 hours. This also allows users to collect from your friends if they have not yet.

GCash, the country’s leading mobile wallet, is now a widespread campaign to help save the environment. What started out in June of 2019 as a special in-app feature.

GCash Forest, which allows users to plant virtual trees with real-life counterparts, has made it easier and more convenient for its users to plant trees through their mobile phones. Now, GCash Forest users, known as Green Heroes, may collect their Green Energy (GE) in App, which is used to plant the virtual trees, within three days instead of the previous 24 hours. This also allows users to collect from your friends if they have not yet.

The amount of GE necessary refers to how much carbon emissions the specific tree species can absorb after a year of growth. Likewise, GCash Forest now includes new tree species to provide a diverse set of trees in the Ipo Watershed within the Angat Watershed Forest Reserve in Norzagaray, Bulacan.

In the new normal where digital transactions are swiftly becoming the norm, GCash Forest is sure to play a critical role in propelling the movement to save planet Earth, while users can still observe standard public health protocols like social distancing. Even in the comfort of our homes, we can continue to care for the environment in our own ways.

In the new normal where digital transactions are swiftly becoming the norm, GCash Forest is sure to play a critical role in propelling the movement to save planet Earth, while users can still observe standard public health protocols like social distancing. Even in the comfort of our homes, we can continue to care for the environment in our own ways.

This June officially marks the beginning of tree planting as it also signals the start of the rainy season in the Philippines. GCash partner World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) will start planting again this month, after successfully planting 4,200 trees by the end of last year.

GCash Forest's goal is to plant 365,000 virtual trees that turn to actual trees. Even with multiple partners, this remains to be an ambitious endeavor but is highly doable through collective effort.

In the Philippines, forest cover is quickly deteriorating at a rate of 52,000 trees per day. GCash Forest is only one of many initiatives to save the country’s natural resources.

Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), which operates GCash, is part of the portfolio companies of 917Ventures, the largest corporate incubator in the Philippines wholly-owned by Globe Telecom Inc.

GCash is available for download on the App Store and Google Play. For more information, kindly visit https://www.gcash.com (https://www.gcash.com/)/.

By improving the features of the in-app gamified tree planting activity, GCash aims to encourage all of its 20 million GCash users to take part in saving the environment through GCash Forest.

More than 3.5 million Filipinos now support GCash Forest

“This is the best thing that GCash Forest can ask for, especially since June officially represents the start of tree planting season in the Philippines. We continue to see encouraging support from more GCash users, who are now using their apps to support the cause for the environment. GCash is not just a digital financial services provider. We have always been mindful of the power of our platform, hence we implement various corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs such as GCash Forest. We believe that through GCash Forest, we will be able to help the Philippine forests to thrive once more and prevent the further denuding of our precious environmental treasures.” ~Martha Sazon, GCash President and CEO

Celebrating its first anniversary last June 25, GCash Forest aims to plant 365,000 virtual trees that turn to actual trees. This is part of the company’s commitment to helping take initiatives that can have a great impact on our environment. After planting a total of 4,200 trees as of the end of 2019, WWF will resume the project this month. Since June marks the beginning of the rainy season in the Philippines, this also means that it is the best time for tree-planting.

Not even the global threat of the COVID-19 pandemic can stop advocates from saving planet Earth, as the number of GCash Forest Green Heroes recently hit an all-time high of 3 million users.

GCash Forest is a feature in the GCash app that allows people to plant and grow trees through their smartphones, each one having true to life counterparts in the Ipo Watershed within the Angat Watershed Forest Reserve in Norzagaray, Bulacan. This watershed is a major source of water supply to Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces.

This is a joint endeavor with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Biodiversity Finance Initiative Philippines (BIOFIN) to help restore Philippine forests, given that the country loses forest cover at an alarming rate of 47,000 hectares per year. Experts believe that without intervention, the country’s forests will disappear by 2036.

GCash Forest lets users earn points by converting the amount of carbon emission avoided into “green energy points” whenever they do activities that leave fewer carbon footprints. Upon saving enough green energy points, GCash users can select a native tree to plant in the Ipo Watershed. A stamp will show up on their tree certificates once WWF plants the trees.

“At WWF, our mission is to stop, and eventually reverse the accelerating degradation of the Philippine environment – to build a future where Filipinos live in harmony with nature. Through our partnership with GCash, we are able to tap the power of technology to encourage more Filipinos to be more mindful of the environment. We are encouraged by this development and we look forward to planting more trees with GCash Forest Green Heroes.” ~Joel Palma, WWF PH Executive Director

For example, if a GCash user walks instead of taking a ride to their destination, they can earn up to 276g. GCash Forest also rewards users for resorting to cashless transactions for their daily errands such as paying bills, buying load, or making bank transfers.

After a successful year for GCash Forest, green energy points can now be redeemed after 3 days from earning them instead of the previous 24-hour deadline to afford users more time to collect them. New species of trees are also available which are more "affordable" than Yakal.

More than tree planting, the main thrust of this campaign is to rehabilitate the watershed to secure supply of water for Metro Manila, maximize the benefits of the fully-grown trees to the biodiversity in the Ipo Watershed which includes reducing erosion, increasing groundwater recharge, mitigating pollution, and providing livelihood opportunities for the community.

Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), which operates GCash, is part of the portfolio companies of 917Ventures, the largest corporate incubator in the Philippines wholly-owned by Globe Telecom Inc.

GCash is available for download on the App Store and Google Play.

GCash Forest eyes 365 thousand trees planted in 365 days

“GCash Forest is about making it easier, more convenient, and even rewarding for everyone to take care of our environment for the benefit of the future generation. 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. 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.” ~Anthony Thomas, Mynt CEO

The Philippines' leading mobile wallet GCash is now making it possible for its users to plant trees by simply using a mobile app for transactions. 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. It happened last June 25, 2019, at The Eye at the Green Sun with their partners DENR, WWF, and Biofin as GCash unveils this ambitious and innovative plan to plant 365,000 trees in 365 days. GCash considers GCash Forest as the 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)
• 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. 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. 

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.

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. 

“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. We’re more than happy to open up our technology and expertise to current and potential partners to make the world a better place.” ~Yan Meng, Ant Financial’s Global Head of International Partnerships

FAST FACTS

Philippine Biodiversity

• The Philippines is one of the 17 mega biodiverse countries. It is among the countries that contain two-thirds of the Earth’s biodiversity and 70 percent of world’s plants and animal species due to its geographical isolation, diverse habitats and high rates of endemism. 
• Thirty percent of the population, including 12 to 15 million indigenous people, resides in the uplands where most of the forests are located.
• Haribon Foundation forester Thaddeus Martinez said the country needs 54 percent of forest cover to protect against landslides and ensure water availability from watersheds, but currently we are at around 22% forest Cover
• Around 1.2 million hectares of denuded and degraded forest lands of the country need to be rehabilitated by 2022
• The Philippines is one of the world’s hotspots with a large number of endangered and threatened species–making it a top global conservation priority area.
• The country hosts more than 52,177 described species of which more than half is found nowhere else in the world. On a per unit area basis, the Philippines probably harbors more diversity of life than any other country on the planet. 
• According to 2011 FAO data, the forestry sector contributed US $ 528.7 million to the economy, which is approximately 0.2 percent of the GDP.
• At least 49 thousand people are directly employed by the forestry sector.
• The Philippines is losing approximately 47,000 hectares of forest cover every year
• There are 237 terrestrial fauna (animals) are threatened with extinction and - 984 threatened Philippine plants
• The Philippines still ranks among the top ten countries with the largest number of species threatened with extinction (CI, 2013)

Ipo Watershed

• Ipo watershed is a vital link in the Angat-Umiray-Ipo watersheds system which supplies around 98% of the water needs of Metro Manila.
• Primarily consisting of public forestlands, forest cover in the area has dramatically dropped from 85% to just 40% in recent years.
• The main thrust of the project is to go beyond the usual tree planting activities and expand it to forests management to help ensure that the planted trees will actually grow to provide their full benefits to the environment and the different stakeholders. This will include rehabilitation and enhancement of existing forests and not just the reforestation of denuded areas. A long-term sustainability plan will be put in place, managed by an effective management body.
• Philippine watersheds and aquifers could supple 479 billion cubic meters of water annually for domestic, industrial and agricultural uses.

Philippine Forests

• Philippines lose 47k hectares of trees annually.
• Haribon Foundation forester Thaddeus Martinez said the country needs 54 percent of forest cover to protect against landslides and ensure water availability from watersheds. Forest Coverage is currently at around 22%.
• Around 1.2 million hectares of denuded and degraded forest lands of the country need to be rehabilitated by 2022.
• Total Forest Cover has decreased from 7,168,400 (2003) to 6,839,717 (2010)

GCash considers GCash Forest as the last mile initiative that fully recognizes the emergence of an all-digital Filipino lifestyle.