GCash, Ramon Aboitiz Foundation plants over 1M trees in Cebu

More types of trees are now available for those who want to join the program.

Photo from GCash

GCash is committed to mitigating the effects of climate change

GCash announced that its partnership with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) has led to a total of 1,150,000 mangroves and upland trees planted across key sites in Cebu since 2021.

GCash, through GForest, and RAFI, through its "One to Tree" program, have collaborated to plant trees to mitigate the effects of climate change and provide livelihood opportunities to surrounding communities.

The partnership has three initiatives, with the first two based in the Luyang Watershed in the northern town of Carmen.

A total of 600,000 trees were planted in the two areas, which include native trees, such as bangkal, mamalis, molave, nangka, and narra, as well as fruit-bearing trees, such as avocado, cacao, cashew, coffee, guyabano, mangosteen, and rambutan.

The third initiative involved the planting of 550,000 mangrove seedlings in Daanbantayan, San Remigio, and Medellin.

As of December 2023, GCash said about 60.5 hectares have been dedicated to enrichment planting via 550,000 seedlings of several different species.

In addition to mitigating the risks of natural disasters and augmenting the water supply, the project has provided livelihood opportunities in surrounding local communities by incentivizing farmers to plant and maintain mangroves.

In celebration of Philippine Arbor Day, GCash said five new tree types will be available on GForest, to be planted by RAFI in Carcar, Cebu, namely molave, mamalis, jackfruit, guyabano, and avocado.

GCash app users generate green energy which they can collect and convert into digital actual trees. In turn, GCash together with its partners plant actual trees around the country at no cost to GForest users.

This aims to help address both biodiversity and the socioeconomic needs of local smallholder farmers.

To date, GForest has planted about 2.8 million trees of various species across the Philippines.

The success of our Cebu initiatives with RAFI proves that by leveraging the power of collaboration and science-based innovations, we can make meaningful progress in our pursuit of a greener and more sustainable world. We are grateful for RAFI and all our partner-organizations, and especially for the dedicated advocacy of our GForest users, for continuing to plant the seeds for a better tomorrow, said CJ Alegre, GCash head for sustainability.

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