Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, have become powerful tools for environmental monitoring and management. Their ability to provide high-resolution, cost-effective, and flexible data acquisition has revolutionized the way ecosystems, natural resources, and landscapes are studied and managed. UAVs are increasingly being used in applications ranging from precision agriculture and forestry to biodiversity conservation, disaster response, and climate change adaptation.
The growing integration of UAV technologies into sustainable environmental management practices opens new opportunities for informed decision-making, efficient resource use, and proactive hazard mitigation. With advancements in sensors, autonomous navigation, and data analytics—including artificial intelligence and machine learning—UAVs offer unprecedented potential for addressing global sustainability challenges.
This workshop aims to showcase the latest research, innovations, and applications of UAVs in environmental management, while also exploring challenges such as data processing, regulatory frameworks, and ethical considerations. The event will provide a forum for interdisciplinary dialogue between researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, emphasizing the contribution of UAVs to achieving sustainability goals.
List of topics
We welcome contributions on, but not limited to, the following topics:
- UAVs for monitoring environmental hazards, such as floods, fires, landslides, and pollution events.
- Advanced UAV sensor technologies (thermal, multispectral, hyperspectral, LiDAR).
- Integration of UAV data with satellite remote sensing, GIS, and modeling platforms.
- UAV-based monitoring of ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources.
- UAVs in water resources management, including wetlands, rivers, and coastal systems.
- Applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning in UAV data analysis.
- Policy, regulatory, and ethical considerations for UAV use in environmental contexts.
- Case studies on UAVs contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Scientific Committee of the Workshop
Lammert Kooistra, lammert.kooistra@wur.nl ,Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands
Salvatore Manfreda, salvatore.manfreda@unina.it , University of Naples Federico II, Italy
George P.Petropoulos, gpetropoulos@hua.gr, Harokopio University of Athens, Greece
Ionuț Sandric, ionut.sandric@geo.unibuc.ro, University of Bucharest, Romania
Anna Zmarz, azmarz@uw.edu.pl, University of Warsaw, Poland
Organisers
Acknowledgement
The organization of this workshop is being supported by the project ACCELERATE, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program grant agreement no. 101182930.