A new approach to ecological restoration is showing how technology and nature can work together to fight climate change at scale. In a recent TED Talk, technologist and climate advocate Tom Chi revealed that just four people, using drones and mangrove seeds, can plant more than 100,000 mangrove trees in a single day a feat that would have been unimaginable using traditional methods.
According to Chi, the drone-based planting process is not only fast but also remarkably effective. Around 90% of the seeds dispersed by drones successfully germinate, and nearly 85% grow into established mangrove plants. These figures challenge the assumption that large-scale ecological restoration must be slow, expensive, and labour-intensive.
Mangrove forests are among the most powerful natural tools for tackling climate change. Although they occupy a relatively small area along coastlines, they are exceptionally efficient at capturing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Mangroves can lock away carbon at rates far higher than many terrestrial forests, while also protecting coastlines from erosion, storm surges, and rising sea levels.
Despite their importance, mangrove ecosystems have been destroyed across the world, often to make way for commercial shrimp farming. Large tracts of coastal mangroves were cleared for aquaculture, an industry that has since been criticised for its environmental damage and inefficiency. Environmental researchers point out that billions of farmed shrimp die every year without ever being consumed, while the destruction of mangroves has permanently damaged coastal ecosystems and worsened climate vulnerability.
Restoring mangrove forests, therefore, is increasingly seen as both a climate necessity and a matter of environmental justice. Drone-based replanting offers a way to reverse some of this damage quickly and at scale, particularly in remote or difficult-to-access coastal regions.
Chi’s presentation also explored the broader potential of using drones underwater to restore coral reefs and seagrass meadows. Like mangroves, seagrass beds play a critical role in carbon sequestration and marine biodiversity, yet they too are disappearing rapidly due to warming oceans, pollution, and coastal development.
Beyond technology, Chi challenged the long-standing idea that economic growth and environmental protection are in conflict. He argued that this “jobs versus environment” framing is misleading, suggesting instead that human economic activity is a subset of the natural environment. All economic systems depend on raw materials grown, mined, or extracted from nature, making environmental health foundational rather than optional.
The discussion also touched on regenerative agriculture, a concept often promoted as a climate-friendly alternative to conventional farming. While such practices may reduce some emissions, critics argue that they are sometimes used to justify the continued expansion of cattle farming, a major source of greenhouse gases. Some environmental thinkers contend that the most effective solution would be the gradual phase-out of large-scale cattle agriculture altogether, rather than attempting to make it marginally less harmful.
A similar critique was raised around hybrid vehicles. While hybrids burn less fossil fuel than conventional cars, they still rely on it. From a climate perspective, reducing harm is not the same as creating a positive environmental outcome, especially when zero-emission alternatives already exist.
Perhaps the most striking point from Chi’s talk was about the contradiction in how many people relate to nature. Surveys consistently show that people claim to value and love natural environments, yet many continue to support lifestyles and industries that actively degrade them. Fossil fuel use, coastal pollution, and destructive land-use practices all contribute to the climate crisis that is already damaging the beaches, reefs, and forests people say they care about.
The rapid replanting of mangroves using drones offers a glimpse of what is possible when innovation is aligned with ecological priorities. While technology alone cannot solve the climate crisis, projects like these show that large-scale restoration is achievable if societies choose to put nature first rather than treating it as expendable.