A UAE-based environmental technology firm has been using drones made of wood and recyclable materials to plant millions of mangrove seeds across Abu Dhabi.
Over the years, self-funded Distant Imagery has partnered with entities like ADNOC, ENGIE and Mubadala Energy to rehabilitate mangrove ecosystems using innovative drone planting technology, which has been supported and adopted by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD).
“We design and build our drones. These are all ‘Made in the UAE’ drones. It’s made of wood for sustainability reasons,” Jane Glavan, co-owner of Distant Imagery, told Khaleej Times.
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Starting by planting 2,000 seeds, the project has scaled to hit 3.5 million mangrove seeds in 2023.
“Drones have less environmental impact, and you can plant at scale. We’ve been planting for the last five years. We started at 2,000 seeds, then went to 10,000, 150,000, then 1 million to 2.5 million. Last year, we planted about 3.6 million seeds. This year, we’re planting about 4.2 million,” Glavan said as she pointed out planting 2.5 million mangrove seeds for ADNOC.
Restoring mangrove forests is a key nature-based solution in the fight against climate change as it stores up to 10 times more carbon.
Distant Imagery has covered different areas of Abu Dhabi, including Mirfa coastal lagoon, Al Nouf, Ruwais, Mirfa and Al Hameem, enabling large-scale reforestation.
“We use drones for restoration in hard-to-reach, environmentally sensitive areas, where it’s difficult to work.”
Once seed has been collected from trees, it is germinated, and then put in the drones. Each of the six drones is custom-built with a tank engineered for mangrove restoration. Once aerial, it pushes out seeds at a speed of 80km/hour.
“It’s like shooting it out mechanically and then straight down. The seed gets stuck into the soil and starts growing,” Glavan noted.
The project has been seeing a high success rate through monitoring and replenishment exercises.
“We monitor twice. We calculate every seedling to understand the success rate. In September and October, we’re going out replenishing what wasn’t successful. So that ADNOC at the end of the day has 2.5 million mangrove seeds growing healthy.”
Distant Imagery deploys an ecological restoration approach to mangrove planting, from site selection to figuring out natural patterns to planting seeds.
“We plant these ecological patterns. We’re following nature. We understand where the seeds should grow if they could on their own. We’re following these fluid paths to restoration. So, we’re planting seeds directly into the soil, where they should best grow, two at a time,” said Glavan.
Currently, six drones are in operation, but soon they will have a new design. “We’re modifying this design. We’ll have another six like this. We are going to have the tank in the drone itself and then the rigging down. It means they will be chunky and wide, and have a longer arm. We can run the system even faster. So, the seeds are really entered into the soil as well.”
Opportunities for volunteers
Distant Imagery also engages volunteers, including students, in their fieldwork.
“With ADNOC, we have 1,000 youth and staff with us. They’re following that same pattern. So, they’re learning. So, rather than just going and planting a mangrove, and walking away and never seeing it again. We have schools, community groups, and people of determination come out with us.”
Volunteers collect seeds, help in germination, move the drones, and even name the seeds they plant.
“They monitor the areas they planted. They get to see their seeds grow up. And it’s beautiful.”
Distant Imagery is empowering communities in Tonga, Madagascar and Brazil by teaching them how to build drones.
“We’re training them how to physically build it, fly it, and become self-sufficient. Imagine a world where all these tribes are working together, planting mangroves, upscaling their operations, and being self-sufficient. We have a platform for knowledge exchange as well. They also learn about the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed’s legacy,” Glavan said and pointed out plans for three more community projects, including one in Indonesia.
“We’re going to upscale by the next year to five different community projects. We’re also looking for other partners to join this adventure.”