The cost of utilizing UAVs has been cited by many as a stumbling block to their usage for a range of disciplines, however the Conservation Drones team are pioneering
the use of cost-effective UAVs. The co-founders save money by designing and building
their own UAVs. By using hobbyist materials, an affordable camera and cheap systems,
the duo developed a prototype UAV for less than £650. Weighing in on the debate over
whether UAVs are a cost-effective way of collecting rich data, Serge Wich has commented ‘Yes, I’m positive about that. Of course there is a set-up time and start-up time to
develop the drone capacity for a local organisation but once they have it they can use it
efficiently. NGOs in Sumatra for instance are now using them on a very regular basis for
survey work and the same for mapping. Flying over with a drone is faster, more efficient
and less costly than going on foot’.
Conservation Drones have also been working in a number of countries to reduce poaching activity. Serge Wich has noted the benefit of UAVs for this initiative, noting that ‘it is
certainly a useful tool for that and drones are being deployed for that reason in Nepal
and potentially some other regions on the future. In Belize, for instance, they are being
used to detect illegal fishing boats and protect the marine areas. Using UAVs to help
anti-poaching efforts is a promising area’. UAVs also provide the added benefit of being
able to track poachers at night. UAVs fitted with thermal imaging cameras are able to
monitor poaching activity in the dark when poachers are usually most active. As a consequence, UAVs undoubtedly hold the potential to advance the fight against poaching.
Some people have raised concerns about using UAVs for conservation purposes because they can disturb or even scare wildlife. Emeritus Professor David M. Bird of McGill
University has shed greater light on this topic. ‘It’s being asked more and more. It’s one
of the first things I get asked by wildlife biologists. “Is this thing going to scare the wildlife” and that’s one of the reasons I conducted a study with birds of prey and UAVs. In
the very first study we did with geese we took photos and there was no scaring of the
birds whatsoever. We used an electric-run fixed-winged machine. We did another study
flying it above a tern colony which can contain several thousand birds. A PhD student
flew the fixed-wing UAV above the colony at around 300-400 ft. the birds lifted off their
nests the first time but less and less the second and third time and fourth time not at
all. The UAV wasn’t exhibiting any threatening behaviour. It all depends on what you are
doing and with what type of UAV’.
David Bird is Director of the Avian Science and Conservation Centre at McGill University. His research focusses upon the application of UAVs to wildlife management and
research globally. Prof. Bird has noted the broad spectrum of uses for UAVs within conservation, incorporating ‘monitoring breeding, wintering and migrating populations of
colonially nesting birds, spawning salmon and orang-utans, mapping breeding habitat
of endangered species, tracking threatened caribou and polar bears in the far north,
examining nest contents of raptorial birds breeding in inaccessible locations, and deterring poachers in Africa’. He has also commented upon the amazing flexibility of UAVs
for conducting a range of conservation research and the possibilities afforded by ad34