RapportFondation_2026_V03 Pages LIGHT EN - Flipbook - Page 18
Protect & restore
2025 REPORT
AFRICA
©Xavier Vincke
Conservation from the Sky
Aerial technology in support
of nature conservation
AMOUNT COMMITED TO DATE: WE CONTRIBUTE
THROUGH THE TIME AND COMMITMENT OF OUR TEAMS.
2025 > PRESENT
To manage a protected area effectively, it is essential to
understand its ecological condition. The Conservation
from the Sky (CFS) programme harnesses a wide range of
aerial technologies, including drones, microlight aircraft,
light aircraft and satellite imagery to provide an accurate
assessment of vegetation, wildlife populations and the
pressures affecting them, such as wildfires, grazing
and illegal activities.
Innovation lies at the heart of the programme. By using
artificial intelligence (AI), wildlife and habitat surveys
based on aerial photographs and satellite imagery
become more accurate, reliable and efficient. This
approach has been developed in partnership with the
University of Liège – Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Aviation
Sans Frontières Belgium and the Airbus Foundation.
©Xavier Vincke
The programme also provides technical support
to protected area managers through training, the
development of monitoring protocols and the organisation
of aerial survey operations.
Originally developed in 2009 by Aviation Sans
Frontières Belgium, the programme was transferred to
the Pairi Daiza Foundation in November 2025.
Today, Conservation from the Sky operates primarily in
Africa, including in the Comoé National Park in Côte
d’Ivoire and Zah-Soo National Park in Chad.
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©Xavier Vincke – Hippotragus photographed from a microlight airplane
