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
No showcases have been added to this group yet.
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 6 Groups
- @dilip_singh556
- | Him
On the way to Bridge technology and Nature.
- 0 Resources
- 2 Discussions
- 10 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 14 Discussions
- 3 Groups
Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI)
Conservation biologist based in Tanzania
- 0 Resources
- 2 Discussions
- 2 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 15 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 8 Groups
Early career, assistance in biologging projects with owls and eagles
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 5 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 10 Groups
- 1 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 12 Groups
- @beccadobrien
- | she/her
Undergraduate student studying mechanical engineering and environmental science at Lehigh University.
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 4 Groups
- @ghirrien
- | Gael
Seasoned Product manager & digital entreprise architect
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 1 Groups
Drone Operator and Tech Developer
- 0 Resources
- 33 Discussions
- 9 Groups
Careers
Consultancy opportunity: Wildlife monitoring specialist
Anthony Dancer
Consultancy opportunity at ZSL for an experienced monitoring specialist to support species monitoring in rewilding landscapes across Europe
31 January 2023
Careers
Conservation Technology Intern (Vietnam)
Meredith Palmer
WILDLABS and Fauna & Flora International are seeking an early career Vietnamese conservationist for 12-month paid internship position to grow and support the Southeast Asia regional community in our global...
11 January 2023
We are developing a project in Thailand, using drones to locate lost & discarded fishing gear across Koh Phangan, Thailand. We're 86% there & only need $1500 to get us over the line. If you can help us, we...
18 December 2022
Careers
12 PhD Positions - WildDrone
Jake Burton
The WildDrone team are looking for 12 PhD candidates to join the "WildDrone - Autonomous Drones for Nature Conservation Missions" Marie-Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network
1 December 2022
Careers
Shark Lab Data Analyst
Carly Batist
This position (at California State University, Long Beach) provides data management & analysis support to Shark Lab research operations including shark tagging, active tracking, receiver data, AUV & UAV data...
24 October 2022
Article
New conservation tech articles from Mongabay
Carly Batist
Five articles that include conservation tech published at Mongabay
20 October 2022
Careers
Conservation Technology Intern (Vietnam)
Stephanie O'Donnell and 1 more
*New closing date!* WILDLABS and Fauna & Flora International are seeking an early career conservationist for 12-month paid internship position to grow and support the Southeast Asia regional community in our global...
19 October 2022
Careers
The Senior Conservation Technology Specialist will be responsible for providing technical advice and capacity development to GWP project teams on conservation technology, distilling challenges and lessons from project...
22 September 2022
Article
Collecting Critically Endangered Plants on Cliffs using a Drone
Guillaume Charron
This technology was recently tested in Kauai, Hawaii, with the National Tropical Botanical Garden and has successfully collected from 5 critically endangered species that were otherwise inaccessible.
16 September 2022
Funding
The European Biodiversity Partnership Biodiversa+, co-funded by the European Union, has launched a call for research proposals on “Improved transnational monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem change for science and...
14 September 2022
Careers
Conservation Technology Research Internship
Meredith Palmer
Boost cons tech capacity at an international NGO! Fauna & Flora International is offering a paid three-month internship to consolidate and share best practices for the application of emerging hardware and software...
26 August 2022
Careers
Full funded, UK and International
11 August 2022
August 2025
event
Louisa Richmond-Coggan
September 2025
event
Louisa Richmond-Coggan
March 2026
January 2023
33 Products
Recently updated products
| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi all, I'm thinking about going for my license. In doing so, I'll do a writeup of my experiences for you all so that way those of you in the... |
|
Drones | 8 years 10 months ago | |
| Ups, it's true :( I hope that you can try to apply anyway. Regards |
|
Drones | 8 years 10 months ago | |
| Anyone want to work on Elephants (in natural habitat) ? At Pah Muang Wildlife Sanctuary (along to road Chiang Mai to Lampang) there are... |
|
Drones | 8 years 10 months ago | |
| Unfortunately, I could not see the full article, but the executive summary makes a lot of sense. I think there might be a couple of other considerations. 1) As... |
|
Drones | 8 years 11 months ago | |
| For anyone interested in an overview of how drones are being deployed for conservation, this piece by Serge Wich (of ConservationDrones.org) provides a... |
|
Drones | 8 years 11 months ago | |
| In April, the Cambridge Conservation Tech Group held its second meetup, which brought together colleagues from RSPB, Birdlife, FFI,... |
|
Drones | 9 years 2 months ago | |
| Interesting. A case in point is the viral video making the rounds about drone fishing: We've seen an array of inventive uses for drones of late across a whole range... |
|
Drones | 9 years 3 months ago | |
| I agree that it is likely that a dirigible would probably struggle in a lot of common mapping settings. People do use kites though. If you are interested in developing the flight... |
|
Drones | 9 years 3 months ago | |
| Hi Lot, great to see you here too. |
|
Drones | 9 years 4 months ago | |
| Hi Sean, Thanks for sharing your survey - is there a specific date you'll be closing the survey? It'd be great if you could share the results of the... |
|
Drones | 9 years 4 months ago | |
| Hi Daniel Thanks for the interest in the project. The load carrying capacity will be a few kgs. The battery I've sized at this stage is around 2kgs and should allow it... |
|
Drones | 9 years 4 months ago | |
| http://www.esri.com/products/drone2map#beta ESRI is developing the means of putting UAV imagery into ArcGIS. Sign up to keep... |
|
Drones | 9 years 5 months ago |
