PlantMaps: Environmental Conservation Using Gamification

In the past three decades, the world has lost 10.3% of its forested area. Deforestation, being a leading cause of global warming and climate change, has been posing a risk of pandemics, food insecurity, and reduced biodiversity. This paper identifies the need to promote environmental conservation to ensure sustainability. The use of design thinking is leveraged to propose a product service system that uses gamification and geolocation—incorporated in a smartphone application and onsite dispensers—for improving tree planting in users. Behaviour patterns are investigated, and rewards and incentives are applied to bring about the desired change in users and encourage them to act for environmental conservation. Ergonomics is maintained to ensure a user-centric experience and instils willingness. Testing of the system and smartphone application revealed a significant change in user behaviour in terms of tree planting. Gamification has proven to not only instil willingness but has also helped reach the desired goal of sustainability. Efficient and showcasing significant potential, this system directly involves all the stakeholders related to environmental conservation, thus proving to be the much needed, possibly impactful solution.