Business of Biodiversity

Can we, or should we, put a dollar sign on nature? Should we put a price on water, carbon, forests, and air? If so, what would this accomplish and how would it be done? In this episode, we look at valuing nature and biodiversity. #Biodiversity, and the ecosystems that stem from it, provide invaluable benefits to our everyday lives, yet it’s often not fully recognised or appreciated. But there is hope. The United Nations has recognised that the economic valuation of biodiversity is crucial for our health and well-being, and there are organisations undertaking this critical work.

So how do we go about ‘valuing’ nature? Some tactics provide economic incentives for behaviour change, and others focus more on preserving the intrinsic value of nature from a social and cultural viewpoint. Tune in to hear from three individuals involved in valuing biodiversity. Their methods are diverse; including offset agreements, environmental accounting, carbon farming and cultural fire credits.

If you’d like to learn more or invest in any of the initiatives that appear in this podcast, please use the links below:

Aboriginal Carbon Foundation

www.abcfoundation.org.au

Biodiversity Conservation Trust

www.bct.nsw.gov.au

Accounting for Nature

www.accountingfornature.org

NSW Saving Our Species Program

www.savingourspecies.online/podcast

Episode produced by www.growloveproject.com

September is biodiversity month, highlighting that we have more than 1,000 threatened species in NSW alone. Now is the perfect opportunity to learn about how we depend on biodiversity in everyday life, often in ways that are not always apparent or appreciated. Did you ever realise that much of our food, energy, medicine, economic opportunities, cultural identity and overall well-being depends on the biodiversity of plants, animals and insects? In this episode, you'll hear from an ecologist and an astrophysicist who shed some light on some of the unexpected ways we rely on threatened species.

‘Dr. Matt Agnew is working with the Saving our Species program on the Threatened Connections awareness campaign mentioned in this episode.’

Thank you to our guests:

Heidi Kolkert - Impact Ecology

Matt Agnew - https://www.drmattagnew.com/

This podcast has been produced by the Grow Love Project with support from the NSW Government’s Saving our Species Program.

For more info visit savingourspecies.online/helpsos

Edgars Greste, Host and Executive Producer

Katie Meyer, Producer

Only one quarter of known Australian threatened species are protected in conservation reserves. Some threatened species are confined to small areas in cities, on farms and along roadsides. Engaging the broader community in conservation efforts is essential to their survival. In this episode we speak to 3 people who are beating the drum for threatened species and bringing the public along for the ride.

Jodi Rowley really loves frogs. Working for the Australian Museum and the University of NSW she is the lead scientist behind the Frog ID APP. Australia has over 240 species of frog which are found nowhere else in the world, some species are flourishing but four have already become extinct. The FrogID APP is a national citizen science project, helping scientists learn more about what is happening to Australia’s frogs. People are recording frog calls on their smartphone in their backyards, schools and farms. Download it and you can't help but start noticing frogs all around.

www.frogid.net.au

Matt Blomfield of Gather By provides an opportunity for Growers and farmers to diversify into the honey business without having to know anything about bees. Gather by looks for farmers with 5ha to grow Australian native Leptospermum plants plus bee- fodder plants, for the purpose of generating chemical free, raw bioactive, Manuka- type honeys for local and export markets, while prioritising bee and ecosystem health. Gather By advises the farmers on what to grow and how and then brings along the bees and collects the honey.

www.gatherby.org/growers

Darren Grover is the Head of Healthy Land and Seascapes Leading the Species, Oceans, Science and Impact teams at WWF-Australia. He has been working hard to improve the conservation status of species like the black-flanked rock-wallaby and Carnaby’s black cockatoo in southwest Australia, the Bilby and Gouldian Finch in the Kimberley, southern right whales in the Great Australian Bight, and marine turtles on the Great Barrier Reef. His biggest challenge is inspiring other to care as much about wildlife. His greatest joy is all the volunteers who make a difference.

www.wwf.org.au/what-we-do

Birds are an iconic species of our Australian environment. And whether you’re in the bush or the backyard, they play an important role with things like keeping pesky insects at bay, pollinating plants and they can even increase your property values. But sadly loss of habitat across both urban and agricultural landscapes has impacted many species of birds with some becoming endangered or threatened. So in this episode we’re talking to a bunch of passionate twitchers who are creating habitat for some threatened species to help nurture the birds and ensure they have a future.

We would like to thank all the guests featured in this episode:

Lea-Ann Ledden - urban bird lover

To see her backyard bird oasis visit - https://youtu.be/IDyJESLD22k

Dr. Holly Parsons, Birdlife Australia, Urban Bird Program Manager

www.birdsinbackyards.net

Jan and Neville Lubke, farmers and birdlife habitat creators

Ben Humphries, Birdlife Australia, Southern NSW Woodland Bird Project Officer

Birds on Farms project - birdlife.org.au/projects/woodland-birds-for-biodiversity/southern-nsw-bof

Saving our Species Program

www.savingourspecies.online/helpsos

Produced by Grow Love Project www.growloveproject.com

The beaches and our river systems are a popular place for recreation. But they're also home to some of our threatened and endangered native wildlife. So as we head into summer with people gathering along the NSW coastline, we’re taking a look at our native marine wildlife, the people who care for them when they get sick or injured and how we can do our bit.

Guests featured in this episode

Olly Pitt - General Manager of Australian Seabird Rescue

seabirdrescue.org.au/

Holly West - Turtle Watch

citizen-science.seed.nsw.gov.au/project/nsw-turtlewatch

Stephen Van Mil - Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital

www.byronbaywildlifehospital.org

www.oceanwarriorsaustralia.org

Saving our Species Program

www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/animals-and-plants/threatened-species/saving-our-species-program