GCash, the digital financial services firm of Globe Telecom, Inc., will fund a massive government-led re-forestation of Ipo Watershed, which is one of Metro Manila’s sources of freshwater.
A statement showed that through donations generated from GCash, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the United Nations Development Programme’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) will be able to plant the first of 365,000 native trees like Narra, Lauaan, Kupang and Yakal in Ipo, which is located in Bulacan.
The reforestation will take place in 2021 as soon as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
“We originally wanted to plant in mid-2020, but decided to heed lockdown guidelines to ensure public safety,” said Mabel Niala, Mynt Public Affairs and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Head of GCash.
GCash is one of the Philippines’ top cashless services and serves a fifth of its population, plus 75,000 partner merchants and 75 nonprofits.
Under this particular CSR drive, using their mobile phones and the GCash mobile app, users can plant trees through GCash Forest, and can earn Green Energy Points by reducing their individual carbon footprints.
For instance, paying bills online eliminates the need to drive to a bank and consume paper for receipts and forms, and thus will give users points.
More points can be garnered for walking to work, taking the stairs, and avoiding single-use plastic items.
When users reach 20,560 points, his or her virtual tree will be fully-grown and a corresponding native tree shall be planted in Ipo Watershed.
“GCash Forest has proven that mobile technology can generate real change for our forests,” said Niala.
To be specific, Ipo Watershed, together with the Angat and Umiray watersheds, supplies 98 percent of Metro Manila’s water needs.
Situated northeast of the sprawling Metropolis, it covers 7236 hectares in Norzagaray and San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan, plus Rodriguez in Rizal.
It is home to several species of animals, including the Philippine Brown Deer, Philippine Warty Pig, Tarictic Hornbill, Grey-headed Fish Eagle and Osprey.
Though protected by several proclamations including a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title for the Indigenous Dumagat tribes of the watershed, Ipo Watershed is pockmarked by patches of burnt soil.
From 85 percent, forest cover plummeted to 40 percent in recent years, mostly due to slash-and-burn or kaingin farming and charcoal-making.
It is estimated that in 2021, Metro Manila’s water demands will overtake supply by as much as 13 percent during peak days, meaning more dry faucets and unserved households, but taking care of watersheds can help avert this.