Conservation Drones
Nonprofit promoting low-cost UAVs for biodiversity conservation.
Conservation Drones is an organization founded by Lian Pin Koh and Serge Wich that focuses on building and promoting unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for biodiversity conservation. The project shares knowledge on constructing and using low-cost drones, and has expanded into a global effort to highlight conservation issues and encourage the use of new technologies in the field.
A conservation drone, sometimes called an eco-drone, is an unpiloted aircraft, typically the size of a model plane. As technology becomes cheaper and more powerful, drones are increasingly useful for conservation work. The organization partners with manufacturers to make UAVs more affordable for environmental groups. Drones vary in size depending on the application and climate conditions.
The concept emerged in 2011 when Koh and Wich met in Zurich to discuss conservation challenges in Southeast Asia. In 2012, they built a prototype and tested it in North Sumatra, Indonesia, leading to the creation of ConservationDrones.org as an open-source forum. A year later, it became a nonprofit under the sponsorship of Mongabay Org Corp.
A drone consists of a model aircraft body fitted with hardware like an autopilot, sensors, live communication systems, and components that adapt to the environment. Free open-source software is also used, including mission planners, flight simulators, and geo-tagging imagery tools.
Drones are used for surveying wildlife, monitoring and mapping land and marine ecosystems, supporting anti-poaching and anti-trafficking efforts, and enforcing restrictions on human activity in protected areas.
Observing a species can disturb its environment and stress individuals. Conservation drones allow monitoring without such disruption and cover larger distances more efficiently than land or sea methods. Researchers can examine individual animal health, conduct population counts, observe migration routes, track population trends over time, and study behaviors like mating. They can also automatically measure animal size, count populations, monitor trends, and study breeding, such as pup numbers. Drone imagery has been tested for non-invasive assessment of body size and condition in harbor seals.
At the Fort Collins Science Center in Colorado, biologists counted 14,000 sandhill cranes in just four hours using a modified former military drone.
- Co-founders
- Lian Pin Koh and Serge Wich
- Year idea emerged
- 2011
- Year first field test
- 2012
- Location first field test
- North Sumatra, Indonesia
- Sponsoring organization
- Mongabay Org Corp
- Sandhill crane count
- 14,000
- Sandhill crane survey time
- 4 hours
Lore & Background
The idea of Conservation Drones emerged in 2011 when conservationists Lian Pin Koh and Serge Wich met in Zurich discussing wildlife conservation challenges in Southeast Asia. By 2012, they built a prototype and conducted its first field test in North Sumatra, Indonesia, leading to the co-founding of ConservationDrones.org as an open source forum on drones. A year later, it became a nonprofit organization under the sponsorship of Mongabay Org Corp.
Conservation drones, also known as eco-drones, are aircraft without a human pilot aboard, usually of model aircraft size. They are made up of a model aircraft hard body attached with hardware such as autopilot, sensors, live communication, and environment-adapting components, along with free open source software including mission planners, flight simulators, and geo-tagging imagery. The organization works with manufacturing companies to make UAVs more affordable for environmental and conservation groups.
Drones are used for wildlife surveying, monitoring and mapping land and marine ecosystems, supporting anti-poaching and anti-wildlife trafficking efforts, and enforcing reductions in human activities in protected areas. They allow wildlife monitoring without disturbing animals and are more efficient in covering larger distances. Researchers can examine individual animal health, perform population counts, observe migration routes, and study behavior. At Fort Collins Science Center, a population count of 14,000 sandhill cranes was accomplished in only four hours using a modified former military drone.
Reader's Guide
Conservation Drones is notable for pioneering the use of low-cost, open-source UAVs specifically for biodiversity conservation, making aerial monitoring accessible to organizations with limited budgets. The project's significance lies in its demonstration that drones can effectively survey wildlife populations, map ecosystems, and support law enforcement against poaching and illegal fishing. For example, the article describes a sandhill crane count of 14,000 individuals completed in four hours—a task that would have taken many people several days on land. The organization also contributed to climate change research by achieving a 100% success rate across 32 missions in locating areas of deforestation in tropical forests, which account for 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Its legacy includes inspiring adoption by major organizations such as National Geographic, World Wildlife Fund, and Zoo Zurich, and fostering a community around open-source drone technology. The project's approach mirrors that of OpenROV, a low-cost open-source submarine initiative, showing a broader trend of democratizing conservation technology.
Did You Know?
- Conservation Drones was co-founded by Lian Pin Koh and Serge Wich after they met in Zurich in 2011 discussing wildlife conservation challenges in Southeast Asia.
- The first field test of a Conservation Drone prototype took place in North Sumatra, Indonesia in 2012.
- A modified former military drone counted 14,000 sandhill cranes in Colorado in only four hours.
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