Dr Jennifer Lucey

Senior Researcher and Deputy Director, Nature-based Solutions Initiative

Profile

Jennifer Lucey is the Deputy Director of the Nature-based Solutions Initiative and a Senior Researcher specializing in biodiversity and sustainable agriculture at the Smith School for Enterprise and the Environment (Department of Geography) at the University of Oxford.

Her impact-driven research aims to find and refine nature-based solutions for transforming agricultural landscapes to support biodiverse and resilient ecosystems, while maintaining and enhancing yields for a healthy human population. Jen trained as a biodiversity ecologist at the University of York, where her PhD focused on the impacts of forest fragmentation in oil palm landscapes. She went on to spearhead the Socially and Environmentally Sustainable Oil Palm Research Programme (SEnSOR 2015-2024), leading an international, multidisciplinary team to investigate the effects of oil palm certification on livelihoods and biodiversity.

Jen works at the interface between science, policy, and practice, collaborating closely with industry, government, and NGOs to develop innovative research that addresses stakeholder needs. From 2015-2018, she was as a NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellow, working with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil to develop zero-deforestation policy and methodologies. Recognised as an authority on biodiversity and forests in oil palm landscapes, Jen has participated in numerous advisory groups, including the RSPO Biodiversity and High Conservation Value Working Group, the NERC Scientific Advisory Network, and the High Carbon Stock Approach Scientific Advisory Committee. Her contributions have earned her a NERC Early Career Impact Award and generated a REF2021 Impact case study.

Jen is currently leading a project to establish an Agricultural Resilience Impact and Innovation Hub, aiming to build industry partnerships and foster interdisciplinary collaboration across ecology, plant science, and social science to co-create impactful research and innovation.

Publications

Journal (14)

Open

de Vos R, Suwarno A, Slingerland M, and others, ‘Pre-Certification Conditions of Independent Oil Palm Smallholders in Indonesia. Assessing Prospects for RSPO Certification’ (2023) 130 Land Use Policy

Fleiss S, Parr C, Platts P, and others, ‘Implications of Zero-Deforestation Palm Oil for Tropical Grassy and Dry Forest Biodiversity’ (2022) 7 Nature Ecology and Evolution 250

Warren-Thomas E, Agus F, Akbar P, and others, ‘No Evidence for Trade-Offs Between Bird Diversity, Yield and Water Table Depth on Oil Palm Smallholdings: Implications for Tropical Peatland Landscape Restoration’ (2022) 59 Journal of Applied Ecology 1231

De Vos R, Suwarno A, Slingerland M, and others, ‘Independent Oil Palm Smallholder Management Practices and Yields. Can RSPO Certification Make a Difference?’ (2021) 16 Environmental Research Letters

Suggitt A, Yeong K, Lindhe A, and others, ‘Testing the Effectiveness of the Forest Integrity Assessment: A Field-Based Tool for Estimating the Condition of Tropical Forest’ (2021) 2 Ecological Solutions and Evidence

Ward C, Stringer L, Warren-Thomas E, and others, ‘Smallholder Perceptions of Land Restoration Activities: Rewetting Tropical Peatland Oil Palm Areas in Sumatra, Indonesia’ (2020) 21 Regional Environmental Change

Ward C, Stringer L, Warren‐Thomas E, and others, ‘Wading through the Swamp: What Does Tropical Peatland Restoration Mean to National Level Stakeholders in Indonesia?’ (2020) 28 Restoration Ecology 817

Scriven, Carlson K, Hodgson J, and others, ‘Testing the Benefits of Conservation set‐asides for Improved Habitat Connectivity in Tropical Agricultural Landscapes’ (2019) 56 Journal of Applied Ecology 2274

Padfield R, Hansen S, Davies Z, and others, ‘Co-Producing a Research Agenda for Sustainable Palm Oil’ (2019) 2 Frontiers in Forests and Global Change

Crowson M, Warren‐Thomas E, Hill J, and others, ‘A Comparison of Satellite Remote Sensing Data Fusion Methods to Map Peat Swamp Forest Loss in Sumatra, Indonesia’ (2018) 5 Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation 247

Lucey J, Palmer G, Yeong K, and others, ‘Reframing the Evidence Base for policy‐relevance to Increase Impact: A Case Study on Forest Fragmentation in the Oil Palm Sector’ (2017) 54 Journal of Applied Ecology 731

Tawatao N, Lucey J, Senior M, and others, ‘Biodiversity of Leaf-Litter Ants in Fragmented Tropical Rainforests of Borneo: The Value of Publically and Privately Managed Forest Fragments’ (2014) 23 Biodiversity and Conservation 3113

Lucey J, Tawatao N, Senior M, and others, ‘Tropical Forest Fragments Contribute to Species Richness in Adjacent Oil Palm Plantations’ (2014) 169 Biological Conservation 268

Senior M, Hamer K, Bottrell S, and others, ‘Trait-Dependent Declines of Species Following Conversion of Rain Forest to Oil Palm Plantations’ (2013) 22 Biodiversity and Conservation 253