Dr. Jennifer Lucey

Biography

Jennifer Lucey is a Senior Researcher and Deputy Director of the Nature-based Solutions Initiative at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on biodiversity and sustainable agriculture, striving to find and refine nature-based solutions that transform agricultural landscapes and support biodiverse, resilient ecosystems while maintaining and enhancing yields for a healthy human population. Jennifer is trained as a biodiversity ecologist with a PhD from the University of York, where her research centered on the impacts of forest fragmentation on oil palm landscapes. She has led the Socially and Environmentally Sustainable Oil Palm Research Programme (SEnSOR 2015-2024) and has worked with an international, multidisciplinary team investigating the effects of oil palm certification on livelihoods and biodiversity. Jennifer collaborates with industry, government, and NGOs to develop innovative research that addresses stakeholder needs. From 2015 to 2018, she served as a NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellow working with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil to develop methodologies for zero-deforestation policy. An acknowledged authority in biodiversity and forests within oil palm landscapes, Jennifer has participated in numerous advisory groups, including the RSPO Biodiversity High Conservation Value Working Group and the NERC Scientific Advisory Network. Her contributions have been recognized, winning the NERC Early Career Impact Award and generating a REF2021 Impact case study. Currently, she is leading a project to establish the Agricultural Resilience Impact Innovation Hub aimed at building industry partnerships to foster interdisciplinary collaboration in ecology, plant science, and social science to co-create impactful research innovations.

Research Interests