https://dronesforgood.global/Real projects where drones are used for good, each one checked against its sources.en https://dronesforgood.global/stories/br-amazon-river-dolphin-drone-surveys/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/br-amazon-river-dolphin-drone-surveys/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTConservationIn November 2016 researchers compared drone and boat surveys of tucuxi and pink river dolphins on the Juruá River and found drones gave higher accuracy for counting animals in groups. Later work in the Mamirauá reserve added thermal cameras. Location: Amazonas state, Brazil. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/ca-flash-forest-drone-reforestation/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/ca-flash-forest-drone-reforestation/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTConservationFrom spring 2021 Flash Forest used drones to fire seed pods into burned land across Canada, planting over 300,000 pods in its first season. Canada's 2 Billion Trees programme contributed C$1.3 million. Location: British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/cd-bj-banana-disease-drone-satellite-mapping/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/cd-bj-banana-disease-drone-satellite-mapping/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTAgricultureA machine-learning platform combined field data from phones, satellite imagery and drones to map banana crops and threats in DR Congo and Benin, reaching 97% overall accuracy according to the Alliance. Location: Democratic Republic of the Congo (and Benin). https://dronesforgood.global/stories/chimoio-cyclone-idai-rescue-boat-routing/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/chimoio-cyclone-idai-rescue-boat-routing/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTDisaster responseOn 23-24 March 2019, after Cyclone Idai, drone operators in Chimoio mapped flooding for Mozambique's disaster agency, locating stranded communities and improving routing of rescue boats for food and evacuation. Location: Chimoio, Manica Province. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/cox-bazar-rohingya-camps-drone-shelter-planning/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/cox-bazar-rohingya-camps-drone-shelter-planning/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTHumanitarian mappingIn 2020, with site access closed by COVID-19, Bangladesh's LGED used georeferenced drone images of Rohingya camps to plan shelter layouts and assess solar nano-grids remotely. Location: Cox's Bazar. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/drc-equateur-drone-vaccine-flights/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/drc-equateur-drone-vaccine-flights/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTMedical deliveryIn 2019 drones from Mbandaka carried vaccines, syringes and medicines to a village of 6,500 residents in Equateur; flights took about 20 minutes versus six hours by road. Location: Equateur Province. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/freetown-community-drone-mapping-hot/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/freetown-community-drone-mapping-hot/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTHumanitarian mappingIn April-May 2025 a crew of Freetown residents, at Freetown City Council's request and funded by HOT and GIZ, flew an open drone mapping campaign of the whole city, producing sub-5 cm imagery. Location: Freetown. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/glencoe-missing-hillwalker-drone-software/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/glencoe-missing-hillwalker-drone-software/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTSearch and rescueIn October 2023 a Lake District mountain rescue drone group used software that scans drone photos for anomalies to locate a hillwalker who had been missing in Glen Etive for more than six weeks. Location: Glen Etive, near Glencoe, Scottish Highlands. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/gs-king-penguin-colony-drone-counts/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/gs-king-penguin-colony-drone-counts/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTConservationResearchers used a beyond-visual-line-of-sight fixed-wing drone to image six large king penguin colonies. Drone-derived counts were within 3.5% of manual reference counts where imagery was high resolution. Location: South Georgia. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/haiti-hurricane-matthew-drone-damage-mapping/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/haiti-hurricane-matthew-drone-damage-mapping/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTHumanitarian mappingAfter Hurricane Matthew, World Bank and IDB teams flew drones over key communes in Haiti, covering seven villages and two cities in four days when satellite imagery was limited. Location: Grand'Anse and Sud departments. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/icmr-i-drone-manipur-india/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/icmr-i-drone-manipur-india/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTMedical deliveryICMR's i-Drone programme studied drone links from district hospitals to primary health centres in Manipur in 2021-22, delivering COVID-19 vaccines and essential medicines. Location: Bishnupur, Churachandpur and Imphal West districts, Manipur. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/in-namo-drone-didi-women-shg-agri-drones/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/in-namo-drone-didi-women-shg-agri-drones/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTAgricultureA central scheme to equip 15,000 women-led self-help groups with drones to rent to farmers for spraying liquid fertiliser and pesticide. According to a ministry reply, 500 drones were distributed under the scheme in 2023-24. Location: India (national scheme). https://dronesforgood.global/stories/ke-narok-quelea-aerial-bird-repellent-spraying/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/ke-narok-quelea-aerial-bird-repellent-spraying/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTAgricultureIn December 2024 Kenya's agriculture ministry launched aerial application of bird repellents, using drones, to control quelea birds threatening wheat and barley farms in Mau Narok. Location: Narok County, Kenya. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/kenya-red-cross-mai-mahiu-drone-mapping/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/kenya-red-cross-mai-mahiu-drone-mapping/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTDisaster responseKenya Red Cross said it rapidly mapped Mai Mahiu with drones after the April 2024 flash flood, letting it advise authorities and alert a school and hospital downstream before another landslide. Location: Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/kosciuszko-lost-hikers-ai-drone/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/kosciuszko-lost-hikers-ai-drone/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTSearch and rescueIn June 2026 a Fire and Rescue NSW drone with AI detection and a thermal camera located two overdue hikers in Kosciuszko National Park less than five hours after they were reported missing. Location: Jindabyne, Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/lennox-head-little-ripper-drone-rescue/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/lennox-head-little-ripper-drone-rescue/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTPublic safetyIn January 2018 Surf Life Saving NSW lifeguards flew a Little Ripper drone to drop a rescue pod to two swimmers in heavy surf off Lennox Head; both reached shore unharmed apart from fatigue. Location: Lennox Head, New South Wales. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/malawi-unicef-flood-model-drones/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/malawi-unicef-flood-model-drones/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTPublic safetyIn 2023 a UNICEF Malawi pilot used drone photos of about 6,200 ha in Rumphi and 13,500 ha in Karonga to build terrain models for a flood forecasting model along the Rukuru River. Location: Karonga and Rumphi districts, northern Malawi. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/msf-matternet-papua-new-guinea-tb-samples/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/msf-matternet-papua-new-guinea-tb-samples/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTMedical deliveryIn 2014 MSF trialled Matternet drones in Papua New Guinea's Gulf Province to carry sputum samples from suspected TB patients at remote health centres to Kerema General Hospital. Location: Kerema, Gulf Province. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/my-kinabatangan-thermal-drone-orangutan-nests/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/my-kinabatangan-thermal-drone-orangutan-nests/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTConservationConservation teams in Sabah flew thermal drones at night to detect heat from orangutans resting in nests, and had flown eight forest areas by mid-2025. Early checks found no orangutans left their nests. Location: Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/mz-thirdeye-flying-sensors-smallholder-farmers/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/mz-thirdeye-flying-sensors-smallholder-farmers/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTAgricultureFrom 2014 FutureWater's ThirdEye project used low-cost drones with infrared sensors to give smallholders crop-condition data, with local operators serving more than 3,500 farmers over 1,600 hectares. Location: Gaza province, Mozambique. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/namibia-ombili-informal-settlement-drone-mapping/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/namibia-ombili-informal-settlement-drone-mapping/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTHumanitarian mappingNamibia Flying Labs flew a drone over Ombili settlement, estimating about 1,540 shacks and 6,160 residents; the data helped leaders revise the town plan. Location: Otjiwarongo. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/nepal-panga-drone-training-and-mapping/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/nepal-panga-drone-training-and-mapping/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTHumanitarian mappingIn September 2015 a training mission flew nine short drone flights over quake-damaged Panga and produced a 3D model and orthomosaic map that students gave to the community. Location: Panga, Kathmandu Valley. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/notre-dame-fire-paris-drones/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/notre-dame-fire-paris-drones/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTPublic safetyDuring the April 2019 Notre-Dame fire, drones were flown over the cathedral to assess the blaze; the Paris Fire Brigade's spokesperson credited their images with tactical choices that stopped the fire reaching the two belfries. Location: Paris. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/np-chitwan-gharial-mugger-drone-survey/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/np-chitwan-gharial-mugger-drone-survey/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTConservationA fixed-wing drone flew a 73 km river stretch in Chitwan National Park, and image analysts counted 205 gharials and 118 muggers. The authors report about US$0.61 per km versus about US$21 per km on the ground. Location: Chitwan National Park region, southern Nepal. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/pe-cip-potato-center-andes-crop-stress-drones/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/pe-cip-potato-center-andes-crop-stress-drones/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTAgricultureCIP in Peru uses drones to aerially assess how potato and other crops perform under stresses including insect damage, disease, drought and frost. Location: Lima and the Andes, Peru. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/pe-madre-de-dios-community-drone-training/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/pe-madre-de-dios-community-drone-training/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTConservationIn August 2025 community members in Madre de Dios were trained to operate and maintain drones to detect illegal logging, mining and deforestation and to patrol while avoiding direct conflict with illegal actors. Location: Madre de Dios region, Peru. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/peru-amazon-antivenom-drone-flights/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/peru-amazon-antivenom-drone-flights/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTMedical deliveryIn December 2016 Peru Flying Labs flew a drone carrying antivenom about 40 km from Contamana to Pampa Hermosa, and blood samples back, in about 35 minutes versus up to 6 hours by riverboat. Location: Contamana, Loreto Region. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/peru-mision-piura-flood-mapping/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/peru-mision-piura-flood-mapping/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTDisaster responseBetween March and April 2017 a drone consortium covered over 7,000 hectares of flooded areas around Piura in three days with nine drones, producing 5 cm resolution maps for response and damage assessment. Location: Piura region, northern Peru. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/ph-drones4rice-seeding-spraying-protocols/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/ph-drones4rice-seeding-spraying-protocols/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTAgricultureIn its first year the three-year Drones4Rice project developed and field-tested protocols for drone seeding, pesticide spraying and fertilizer spreading in three regions, supporting the government's drone voucher programme. Location: Cagayan Valley, CALABARZON and Bicol regions, Philippines. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/pulaski-county-helene-drone-rescue/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/pulaski-county-helene-drone-rescue/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTSearch and rescueDuring Hurricane Helene storms in 2024, a county drone team flew over a flooded camper where crews could not reach two trapped people, confirmed they were there, and stayed with them until help arrived. Location: Pulaski County, Virginia. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/rega-autonomous-search-drone-switzerland/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/rega-autonomous-search-drone-switzerland/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTSearch and rescueRega presented a drone in 2019 that flies a search route autonomously with a thermal camera and software that flags possible people, intended to supplement helicopters when visibility is poor. Location: Switzerland. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/sagunto-lifeguard-drone-swimmers/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/sagunto-lifeguard-drone-swimmers/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTPublic safetyIn August 2018 a lifeguard drone flew out to seven swimmers caught in an undertow near Sagunto, Spain, and dropped a self-inflating life jacket; jet ski lifeguards then retrieved the swimmers, per New Atlas. Location: Sagunto, Valencia. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/skyports-nhs-argyll-bute-drone-deliveries/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/skyports-nhs-argyll-bute-drone-deliveries/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTMedical deliveryFrom February 2021 Skyports drones linked hospitals and a medical practice in Argyll and Bute, carrying COVID-19 test samples, medicine and PPE up to 3 kg per flight. Location: Argyll and Bute, Scotland. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/swiss-post-matternet-lugano-lab-samples/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/swiss-post-matternet-lugano-lab-samples/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTMedical deliveryFrom March 2017 Swiss Post and Matternet tested drone flights between two Lugano hospitals of the EOC group, intended to carry blood samples and other light parcels. Location: Lugano, Ticino. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/tanzania-kagera-earthquake-aerial-survey/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/tanzania-kagera-earthquake-aerial-survey/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTHumanitarian mappingIn October 2016 WeRobotics flew fixed-wing and quadcopter drones near Bukoba at the request of Tanzania's Ministry of Home Affairs to survey earthquake damage. Location: Bukoba, Kagera Region. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/tz-chemba-ifpri-smallholder-drone-mapping/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/tz-chemba-ifpri-smallholder-drone-mapping/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTAgricultureIn March 2018 local drone pilots collected multispectral data over four areas of 50 to 800 hectares and over 100 farm boundaries in three villages, to ground-truth satellite crop data for smallholders. Location: Chemba District, Dodoma region. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/us-noaa-southern-resident-killer-whale-photogrammetry/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/us-noaa-southern-resident-killer-whale-photogrammetry/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTConservationIn September 2015 a NOAA research team flew a remotely operated hexacopter over the San Juan Islands and took aerial photogrammetry images of all 81 Southern Resident killer whales to assess their condition. Location: San Juan Islands, Washington. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/vanuatu-cyclone-pam-drone-imagery/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/vanuatu-cyclone-pam-drone-imagery/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTDisaster responseAfter Cyclone Pam in March 2015, drone operators collected high-resolution aerial imagery in over 30 areas of Vanuatu for damage assessment; the government later published it on OpenAerialMap. Location: Vanuatu (Port Vila region). https://dronesforgood.global/stories/vanuatu-drone-vaccine-delivery/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/vanuatu-drone-vaccine-delivery/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTMedical deliveryIn 2018 Vanuatu's Ministry of Health and UNICEF launched a pilot using drones from two companies to carry temperature-sensitive vaccines to 39 remote villages. Location: Remote islands of Vanuatu. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/vn-bach-long-vi-mangrove-coral-drone-mapping/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/vn-bach-long-vi-mangrove-coral-drone-mapping/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTConservationResearchers flew small drones with multispectral cameras over Bang La mangroves and coral reefs near Bach Long Vi Island, and handed the methods and data to the marine protected area board for routine monitoring. Location: Hai Phong, Vietnam. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/zipline-ghana-covid-vaccine-delivery/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/zipline-ghana-covid-vaccine-delivery/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTMedical deliveryOn 2 March 2021 Zipline began delivering COVID-19 vaccines by drone to selected Ghanaian health facilities, starting with Asuofua Health Center. Location: Ashanti Region. https://dronesforgood.global/stories/zipline-rwanda-blood-delivery/https://dronesforgood.global/stories/zipline-rwanda-blood-delivery/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTMedical deliveryFrom late 2016 Zipline drones flew blood products from a distribution centre near Muhanga to Kabgayi hospital, among the first commercial products delivered by drone. Location: Muhanga District, Southern Province.