Drones on a mission to restore Myanmar’s mangrove cover:

Drones on a mission to restore Myanmar’s mangrove cover:

Context

• Drones are turning into a savior for the fast-dwindling mangroves in Myanmar’s low-lying Ayeyarwady Delta, ravaged by decades of deforestation and conversion of land for agriculture and aquaculture.

Losing Mangroves

• Mangroves protect coastlines in the face of storms and rising sea levels, absorb carbon from the atmosphere, and boost fish stocks.
• Still Myanmar has lost more than 1 million hectares (about 2.5 million acres) of mangroves since 1980.
• In the delta region, known as the country’s rice bowl, only 16% of original mangrove cover remains.

Restoring of Mangroves

• There is an “urgent need” to restore mangroves to stem saltwater invasion of farmland and shoreline erosion due to sea level rise.
• There is a dire need to protect lives and property from storms and floods in coastal areas as well.
• An annual climate risk index by Germanwatch, a green research group, ranked Myanmar, which suffered decades of military rule, second among the 10 countries worst-affected by extreme weather from 1996 to 2015.
• WIF has so far planted some 3 million mangrove trees, but the task is laborious and time-consuming.

How can Drones come handy?

• Drones can plant trees 10 times faster and cut costs by half, according to UK-based start-up BioCarbon Engineering (BCE), whose CEO is an ex-NASA engineer who worked on the search for life on Mars.
• Once the process is fully automated, a single pilot operating six drones can plant up to 100,000 trees per day.
• The plan covers 250 hectares and involves training and employing locals to collect and prepare seeds, as well as to maintain, monitor and protect the fragile ecosystems.
• It still requires approval from Myanmar’s authorities.
• Drones are particularly useful in complicated or dangerous terrain that is hard for people to access.
• They can help cover large areas of land very fast, and could contribute to meeting the international community’s commitment to restore 350 million hectares of degraded forests and agricultural land by 2030.

Benefits of Mangrove ecosystem

• The thriving mangrove ecosystems can store two to four times more carbon than most other tropical forests, helping reduce planet-warming gases in the atmosphere, while slowing coastal erosion and shielding communities against tsunamis and storm surges.
• They also provide breeding grounds for fish and other sea creatures. Mangroves have been estimated to support 30 percent of Southeast Asia’s fish catch, and almost 100 percent of its shrimp catch.

Using Drones

• Drones flying 100 metres (328 ft) above the ground take highly detailed, 3D images of the land while sensors record information such as soil type, soil quality and moisture.
• The data is then used to create a planting pattern, pinpointing the best spots and species to plant in each location.
• Then a drone uploaded with the mapping information flies 2 metres above the ground, shooting biodegradable seed pods designed to enhance germination success.
• A drone carrying 300 seed pods can cover 1 hectare in 18 minutes.
• BCE had tested around 3,000 species of plants in different conditions, including in Britain and in Australia, and was confident of finding the right combination for Myanmar.