In recent years, drone technologies have been explored for a range of applications in conservation including (but not limited to) mapping, biodiversity inventories, antipoaching patrols, wildlife tracking, and fire monitoring. The rise of customizable, open-source drones like those of ArduPilot and OpenROV hold promise for more effective conservation applications, and combined with other monitoring sensors and devices, they are capable of collecting high-resolution data quickly, noninvasively, and at relatively low cost.
However, challenges remain in putting these tools to use. A recent paper reviewing 256 conservation drone projects highlighted some of these major obstacles, ranging from unintended social and ecological consequences of drone operations to still prohibitive costs, both in terms of hardware and in terms of storing and processing large volumes of data. The longstanding challenge of power/battery life remains as well.
If you're considering trying out drones for yourself, and want to explore the possibilities and understand the major conversations happening around this technology, check out these beginner's resources and conversations from across the WILDLABS platform:
Three Resources for Beginners:
- Conservation Technology User Guidelines Issue 5: Drones, World Wildlife Fund | Drones, best practices, ethics, regulations, case studies
- WILDLABS Virtual Meetup Recording: Drones, Craig Elder, Dr. Claire Burke, and Gabriel Levin | Drones, thermal camera, wildlife crime, ML, biologging
- New Paper: Drones and Bornean Orangutan Distribution, Sol Milne | Drones, data analysis, citizen science, community science, primates
Three Forum Threads for Beginners:
- Curious about radio-tracking with drones? | Wildlife Drones, Biologging (5 replies)
- Drones for GIS Best practice Document | Adrian Hughes, Drones (10 replies)
- WWF Conservation Technology Series: Drones in Conservation | Aurélie Shapiro, Drones (7 replies)
Three Tutorials for Beginners:
- How do I use a drone to capture radio-tracking data? | Debbie Saunders, Tech Tutors
- How do I choose the right drone for my conservation goals? | Shashank Srinivasan, Tech Tutors
- How do I strategically allocate drones for conservation? | Elizabeth Bondi, Tech Tutors
Want to know more about using drones, and learn from experts in the WILDLABS community? Make sure you join the conversation in our Drones group!
*Header photo: Parker Levinson, Point Blue Conservation Science
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Article
New technologies offer a lot of potential for conservation, but are there potential risks to deploying these new technologies? In this first thought piece for the Ethics of Conservation Tech Group, Dr Chris Sandbrook...
2 November 2015
September 2025
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Louisa Richmond-Coggan
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April 2023
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| Hi I can help...I think I have a few ideas where this can work. Thanks |
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Drones | 3 years 2 months ago | |
| >>>Ideally I'd be able to log angle/acceleration data (IMU), GPS (XYZ) >>>camera-trigger events (hotshoe of camera) to an SD card. The Pixhawk class... |
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Drones | 3 years 7 months ago | |
| Drone program manager at Island Conservation - https://www.islandconservation.org/drone-program-coordinator/ Senior Specialist, Flight... |
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Drones | 4 years ago | |
| Hi Egil, The group I'm involved with works with remote communities in/around North and South Luangwa National Parks and there is some expansion happening to community areas... |
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Drones | 4 years 5 months ago | |
| Here is a very interesting conference with different tech approaches about Automated Forest Restoration where we collaborated with our... |
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Drones | 4 years 5 months ago | |
| Hi! Interesting subject indeed. In most cases where UAVs are used in nature "documentaries" it is pretty obvious to a behavioural biologist that the animals... |
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Drones | 4 years 6 months ago | |
| Hi Wildlabbers, This week is the last episode of Tech Tutors Season 2! Elizabeth Bondi tackled the question "How do I... |
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AI for Conservation, Drones | 4 years 6 months ago | |
| Hello Aurelie, Thank you for sharing this info. I just downloaded the brochure and I am sure I will find it very useful. I have senseFly's eBee Classic, with RGB,... |
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Drones | 4 years 7 months ago | |
| Hi Wildlabbers, Tech Tutors Season 2 continues with our fifth episode, featuring Shashank Srinivasan who will tackle the question... |
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Drones | 4 years 7 months ago | |
| The UFO project is an H2020 programme dedicated to supporting the development of innovative products and services by integrating ... |
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Drones | 4 years 7 months ago | |
| Hi Isla, That's something that the drone world really needs to take on because there can be a world of difference in drone size, prop types and motor types to reduce impact... |
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Drones | 4 years 8 months ago | |
| Hello Shashank, I found your post very interesting - congratulations on looking at the ethical side of this technology! One of the reasons that our organisation,... |
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Drones | 4 years 10 months ago |
