Drone in the Environmental Audit: Potentialities and Applications

Remotely Aircrafts (RA), popularly known as Drones, are capable tools to generate highly accurate remote sensing products with a great potential perspective for use in the Environmental Audit process, performing previously exclusive tasks of manned aircrafts. However, because it is a relatively recent technology, it is justified the need to consider the applicability of its use in environmental studies. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the potentialities and applications of Drones in the Environmental Audit process, as well is present a methodology for data acquisition and identification of environmental impacts, listing the conformities and nonconformities of the audited enterprise, giving subsidy for an effective planning of actions to minimize impacts. Orthomosaics generated by the Drone in this studied case was used to carry out a compliance audit, based on the applicable legislation and regulations, being a fundamental tool to verify the real situation of the mining company through the legislation in force in the country, giving support to the implementation of corrective actions of detected nonconformities. In view of the obtained results it was possible to conclude that Drone presented promising quickly and low cost data, proving to be an important tool in environmental audits, providing necessary information to carry out an effective planning and implementation of corrective actions of detected non-adjustments, considering the principle of reparability of environmental damage, which obliges the polluter and the predator to recover and/or indemnify the damages caused.