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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Hello, I am working as Enterprise Solution Architect with Department of Conservation, New Zealand Government. I am keen to learn the progresses and advancements made in the conservation space. This will provide us the starting point to collaborate and implement the technology.Tkx
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University of California
retired Field Station Director, very early adopter of conservation technologies
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Fauna & Flora
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Rewilding Rhodopes Foundation
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Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
Wildlife Biologist and Marine Conservationist
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I am a science assistant doing research in semi-open nature-reserves, and monitoring grazing livestock as a main managing tool, thereby using tracking devices.
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Natural Resources Engineer. Birdwatcher and citizen science lover, data science enthusiast.
Wanting to learn more ways to use technology for conservation.
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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| Colleagues at WWF are working with US agencies in the Northern Great Plains to pilot drones for plague vaccine delivery in... |
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Drones | 8 years 7 months ago | |
| Hi all, First of all, sorry for this delayed response! Thanks for the info, unfortunately i did not have enough time to inform my friend, but now we know for the next time! ;)... |
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Drones | 8 years 7 months ago | |
| It takes a serious threat to convince the National Park Service to allow drones in its airspace, and for Puuhonua O Honaunau that was the... |
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Drones | 8 years 7 months ago | |
| I will not consider karma for conservation, the 3DR Solo instead is much more smart and open source. Ready for more tasks than just a flying camera. Mavic of course is very... |
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Drones | 8 years 7 months ago | |
| 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... |
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Drones | 8 years 7 months ago | |
| Ups, it's true :( I hope that you can try to apply anyway. Regards |
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Drones | 8 years 8 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... |
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Drones | 8 years 8 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... |
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Drones | 8 years 9 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... |
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Drones | 8 years 9 months ago | |
| In April, the Cambridge Conservation Tech Group held its second meetup, which brought together colleagues from RSPB, Birdlife, FFI,... |
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Drones | 9 years 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... |
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Drones | 9 years 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... |
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Drones | 9 years ago |
