The Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Friday launched a new mobile game application called 'Animal Town' the first-ever mobile game that mobilizes finance for nature in the Philippines.

At the launching at the department's Central Office, DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said the Animal Town mobile game application was developed to generate revenues which can be used to finance biodiversity conservation program of the agency.

It is a free-to-play, simple, casual simulation game where the user plays as a new recruit in biodiversity advocates team to help a group of animal characters manage a town to efficiently conserve biodiversity.

It features quests (dispatch, scenario and daily) and biodiversity trivia to inform and educate it's players.

Revenues will be generated through in-game purchase and advertisements and will be directed to priority biodiversity conservation projects of Biodiversity Management Bureau of the DENR. The Forest Foundation Philippines will act as it's fund manager.

Conceptualized in 2019, Animal Town was created by the DENR and United Nations Development Programme Philippines Biodiversity Finance Initiative and the agency's Biodiversity Management Bureau.

DENR Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Affairs, Atty. Jonas Leones in his welcome message, said in the face of threats, the department "put a premium to environmental values," by launching the very first mobile game for biodiversity.

"What we need now is convergence and raising the awareness to value environment," Leones said.

British Ambassador to the Philippines Laurel Beaufils in her video message expressed her congratulations to all those involved in the project for the successful launching.

"Biodiversity is very fundamental. It is our shield to climate change," Beaufils explained.