BROADCASTS.com

Two experts join the Mongabay Newscast to discuss the decline in koala populations in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), even as city councils and the government green light development projects on koala habitats that aren't being replaced by biodiversity offset schemes, ecologist\xa0Yung En Chee of the University of Melbourne, explains.

Meanwhile, the promised Great Koala National Park has been delayed by NSW Premier Chris Minns, even as his state allows logging of koala habitat within the park borders while he tries to set up a carbon credit scheme to monetize the protected area, says journalist Stephen Long with Australia Institute.

\u201cI'm not sure how long this failure has to persist before we decide that we really ought to change course,\u201d says Chee of the biodiversity credit schemes, which seem to be based on outdated data, and don\u2019t come close to satisfying their \u2018no net loss\u2019 of biodiversity goals.

See related coverage: How a conservation NGO uses drones and artificial intelligence to detect koalas that survive bushfires, here.

If you want to read more on biodiversity offsetting and 'no net loss,' please read this resource from the IUCN.

If you enjoy the Mongabay Newscast, please visit\xa0www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show\xa0growing.\xa0Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet, and\xa0all support helps!

See all our latest news from\xa0nature's\xa0frontline at\xa0Mongabay's\xa0homepage,\xa0mongabay.com, or follow Mongabay on any\xa0of the social media platforms\xa0for updates.

Please send your ideas and feedback to submissions@mongabay.com.

Image:\xa0Gumbaynggirr Country is home to the dunggiirr, the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), one of the totem animals for the Gumbaynggirr people. Koalas numbers are estimated to be in the tens of thousands in the state of New South Wales. Image by Steve Franklin via Unsplash (Public domain).

--

Timecodes

(00:00) Introduction

(01:34) The Koala Crisis in New South Wales

(04:33)\xa0Where is the Great Koala National Park?

(06:39)\xa0Logging Activities and Government Delays

(09:53)\xa0The Problem with Carbon Credits\xa0

(16:46)\xa0Interview with Yung En Chee

(18:38)\xa0Biodiversity Offsets: Concept and Criticism

(20:15)\xa0Failures in Biodiversity Offset Implementation

(31:23)\xa0Double Dipping and Offset Market Issues

(35:22) Conclusion