Be part of the ConServation ConVersation! Celebrate World Wildlife Day

 The Nature Drone Forum (NDF) 2026 is a global platform dedicated to advancing the ethical and impactful use of drones, AI,  sensing technologies and data management for conservation.  

Hosted in Nairobi and Konza, Kenya, and celebrating World Wildlife Day (3 March), the forum brings together conservationists, researchers, technologists, regulators, and youth leaders to share innovations spanning oceans, forests, grasslands, and beyond. 

The six-day programme includes:

March 2 – African Drone Forum: Elevate Africa Drone Summit

Cross-sector sessions on public health, agriculture, logistics, and other domains, with a focus on enabling safe BVLOS operations in Africa.

March 3 (Morning) – Women in Conservation Forum  [World Wildlife Day]

Celebrating leadership, innovation, and field experiences from women conservationists across Africa and globally.

March 3 (Afternoon) – March 5 – Global Drones in Nature Conservation Symposium & Expo

Poster sessions, exhibitions, and live competitions

March 6 – Conservation Data Management Forum

 Focusing on open geospatial platforms, scalable drone-data governance, integrating drone-derived data into African conservation decision-making.

March 6–7 – Drone flight Demonstration & Training Course (Konza Drone Corridor)

Live conservation drone demonstrations, operational training, and hands-on skills development. 

By fostering collaboration, knowledge sharing, and cross-sector engagement, NDF 2026 champions inclusive, data-driven solutions to some of the world’s most urgent conservation challenges.

 These take place between the opening plenary on March 3 (World Wildlife Day), which will feature keynote speakers and set the forum’s strategic agenda, and the closing plenary on March 5, where major outcomes will be shared and the host location and focus for NDF 2027 will be announced.   

 The tracks have been chosen to align with the full thematic details, which include comprehensive descriptions, representative use cases, and mapping to:
(a) Wilddrone Doctoral Candidates and research themes,
(b) the World Bank Group & UN-EP Global Wildlife Program (GWP) thematic areas, and

 (c) the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) .
This ensures alignment with global research priorities, operational best practices, and funding-linked conservation objectives. 

Data Processing & AI (Aligns with Tr1, Tr3, Tr8)

• Wire-Snare Detection (Aligns with Tr4)
• Through-the-Water Surface Sensing (Aligns with Tr2) 
• Ecosystem Change Detection (Aligns with Tr1, Tr7, Tr8)
• Community Mapping and Citizen Science (Aligns with Tr6)

Environmentally Safe Photography/Video (Aligns with Tr6)

Drone as Data Mule Challenge (Aligns with Tr3, Tr9)

Drone-Mounted Sensor & Nest Inspection Challenge (Aligns with Tr5, Tr9)

Youth Storytelling or Innovation (Aligns with Tr6)