Aboitiz Foundation and GCash are set to plant one-million trees across 1,200 hectares of forest and coastal areas in Balamban, Cebu, under a five-year ecosystem restoration program.

The CarbonPH x GForest Project combines Aboitiz Foundation’s long-term nature restoration program with GCash’s digital environmental platform to rehabilitate forests, watersheds and coastal ecosystems while supporting local communities.

The project will establish a mix of agroforestry areas, indigenous and native tree plantations, and mangrove sites, with interventions designed around the needs of local ecosystems and communities.

Initiative goes beyond number of trees planted

Aboitiz Foundation president Ginggay Hontiveros-Malvar said the initiative goes beyond simply increasing the number of trees planted.

“CarbonPH is about looking beyond the number of trees we plant. It is about restoring entire ecosystems and making sure they continue to provide value to people and communities for generations,” Hontiveros-Malvar said.

The partnership will add one-million actual trees to the 4.9-million trees already planted through GCash GForest, bringing GCash closer to its goal of 10 million actual trees by 2030.

Through the GCash app, users earn green energy points from their digital activities, which can be used to support tree-planting projects and community livelihoods.

40-year Cebu forest restoration commitment

The project is also part of CarbonPH’s broader 40-year commitment to restoring Cebu’s forest landscapes, with an ambition covering more than 40,000 to 71,000 hectares, primarily within the Central Cebu Protected Landscape and surrounding areas.

Local communities will participate in nursery establishment, planting, maintenance and protection of restored sites.

The initiative is expected to contribute to biodiversity conservation, water security, carbon capture and climate resilience while creating livelihood opportunities through agroforestry.