Koala conservation delayed while government pursues faulty offset schemes

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 Yung 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.

“I'm not sure how long this failure has to persist before we decide that we really ought to change course,” says Chee of the biodiversity credit schemes, which seem to be based on outdated data, and don’t come close to satisfying their ‘no net loss’ of biodiversity goals.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.

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Image: Gumbaynggirr 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).

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Timecodes

(00:00) Introduction

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

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

(06:39) Logging Activities and Government Delays

(09:53) The Problem with Carbon Credits 

(16:46) Interview with Yung En Chee

(18:38) Biodiversity Offsets: Concept and Criticism

(20:15) Failures in Biodiversity Offset Implementation

(31:23) Double Dipping and Offset Market Issues

(35:22) Conclusion