‘Animal Town’ game app unveiled to raise funds for conservation efforts

MANILA, Philippines — “Animal Town,” a mobile game application, was launched Friday to generate funds for the conservation of Philippine wildlife and biodiversity.

“Animal Town is a chill-paced simulation game where you build and manage a tiny town of animals. You can gather resources, develop various characters, and complete various quests,” explained Animal Town App Developer Lord Gosingtian during its launching ceremony at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Central Office in Quezon City.

“The game also serves as an educational tool for learning about the challenges and solutions to protect Philippine biodiversity,” he added.

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The introduction of the gaming app was made possible through the collective efforts of the Biodiversity Finance Initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), and Forest Foundation Philippines (FFP).

According to Anabelle Plantilla, country manager of the DENR-UNDP BIOFIN Philippines, Animal Town will test whether free-to-play mobile games with in-app purchases can serve as a viable source for conservation funds.

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The funds that will be generated from the gaming application will be managed by FFP while the DENR-BMB will identify conservation programs to be supported by the fund.

“There are 46 million registered mobile app users in the Philippines, so even a tiny percentage of paying gamers can do a lot to support our country’s conservation initiatives,” DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said.