GCash Forest Eyes 365 Thousand Trees Planted In 365 Days

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. 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-Iife 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 lpo 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 lpo 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 featureis inspired by Alipay Ant Forest, a product operates by Ant Financial, an Alibaba affiliate n e 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.”

GCASH LOOKING FOR NGO PARTNERS IN MINDANAO FOR GCASH FOR GOOD PROGRAM

Leading mobile money platform, GCash, is looking for partners in Mindanao for its  GCash for Good - a pioneering corporate social responsibility program  that enables Filipinos to donate to non-government organizations  (NGOs) that champion worthy advocacies from education, environment to animal welfare among others.

This was announced yesterday by GCash VP for Corporate Communications Reyner Villasenor in a press launch held in Park Inn Hotel in Davao City who said that GCash for Good is another big step to further develop the GCash app into a more socially relevant and sustainable platform that help addresses issues across different levels of society.

GCash, operated by operated by Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), is well-equipped to become a springboard for donations to non-government organizations that champion various advocacies, thanks to its scale and innovative digital platform. Thus, the GCash executive is calling on all NGOs in Davao City and nearby cities and provinces to join the GCash for Good as their partners in spreading good to all.

“With GCash for Good, GCash users can use the GCash app to donate to various groups to create an impact on society. This allows GCash to be a more inclusive and open platform that will help create better opportunities for millions of Filipinos. I am calling on all our NGO friends in Davao region and in the whole of Mindanao to join us as we spread the power of good through GCash,” Villasenor said.

For interested NGOs, some regulatory requirements need to be completed before becoming official GCash for Good partners to ensure the organizations are legitimate and the money donated cannot be abused.

The GCash for Good program currently involves 35 NGOs, which are included in the initial batch after completing their documentation requirements both from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and Mynt before the program was launched.  The program has already been launched in Manila and Cebu.

During the GCash for Good  launch in Davao City, Villasenor also disclosed that that people now prefer to donate online, as this removes the hassle of having to go through long queues and processes, giving them more time to focus on their daily lives.

He quoted a study by 2017 Global Trends in Giving which shows that 54 percent of individuals prefer to donate online, while the total volume of donations made online grew by a strong 12.1 percent.

Various researches  also show a growing trend in micro-donations and crowdfunding, with sites like Patreon and Kofi gaining massive support. According to Tech’s Good, micro-donations range between $0.25 and $10. This kind of donations, although small at a time, can make a huge difference once added up.

“With innovative mobile money technology like GCash, people who want to do good are now empowered with a more efficient experience. Any amount will create huge opportunities for organizations that forward different issues. With GCash for Good, users will also have direct access to where their donations go. It showcases a more transparent ad user-friendly interface for anyone to access, ” Villasenor stressed.