A workshop on “Drones in Antarctic Biology” was held at the recent SCAR Biology Symposium 2017 in Leuven, Belgium, organised by the SCAR Action Group on the Development of an Antarctic-wide remote sensing approach to monitor bird and animal populations (SCAR Remote Sensing). The workshop report summarizes the current state-of-the-art of research and experience on the disturbance potential of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (UAV/RPAS) operations to Antarctic wildlife.
At the Committee on Environmental Protection (CEP) XX meeting in June 2017 an Intersessional Contact Group was established to look into guidelines for the environmental aspects of the use of UAV/RPAS in Antarctica. The workshop report includes a series of relevant recommendations based on the current state of knowledge in the area and identified areas that require further discussion before the compilation of guidelines are considered.
A copy of the workshop report is available here.