Responsible drone use in biodiversity conservation: guidelines for environmental and conservation organization who use drones [Policy briefing].

Abstract

Drawing on interdisciplinary research expertise, this document lays out principles for best practice for the use of drones as part of biodiversity conservation and/or efforts to defend rights to land. We outline the risks that drones can pose to local communities and wildlife and propose mitigating strategies for minimising these risks. As drone imagery often captures identifiable human subjects, we highlight the importance of practices to avoid capture or deleting imagery where not needed, to reduce the risk of conservation data being used for other political purposes.