Person:
Ruckelshaus, Mary

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Fields of Specialization
Ecosystem services, Marine ecology
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ORCID
0000-0001-9492-2708
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Stanford University, Natural Capital Project
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Last updated: February 21, 2024
Biography
Mary Ruckelshaus is the Director of The Natural Capital Project (NatCap) and a Senior Research Associate at Stanford University. Mary has previously held leadership positions with the US government (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and was an Assistant Professor of biological sciences at The Florida State University. The main focus of her recent work is on developing standard approaches for valuing nature and mainstreaming them into high-leverage decisions globally. She has been a lead author and reviewer for the 2013 and 2017 US National Climate Assessments. Ruckelshaus is currently on the Board of the Wild Salmon Center, and the WD Ruckelshaus Center at the University of Washington and Washington State University; and has served on the Board of Directors for The Nature Conservancy, COMPASS, and is past Chair of the Science Advisory Board of the US National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS). Ruckelshaus has a bachelor’s degree in human biology from Stanford University, a master’s degree in fisheries from the University of Washington, and a doctoral degree in botany, also from Washington.

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    Nature's Frontiers: Achieving Sustainability, Efficiency, and Prosperity with Natural Capital
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-06-27) Damania, Richard; Polasky, Stephen; Ruckelshaus, Mary; Russ, Jason; Amann, Markus; Chaplin-Kramer, Rebecca; Gerber, James; Hawthorne, Peter; Heger, Martin Philipp; Mamun, Saleh; Ruta, Giovanni; Schmitt, Rafael; Smith, Jeffrey; Vogl, Adrian; Wagner, Fabian; Zaveri, Esha
    The great expansion of economic activity since the end of World War II has caused an unprecedented rise in living standards, but it has also caused rapid changes in earth systems. Nearly all types of natural capital—the world’s stock of resources and services provided by nature—are in decline. Clean air, abundant and clean water, fertile soils, productive fisheries, dense forests, and healthy oceans are critical for healthy lives and healthy economies. Mounting pressures, however, suggest that the trend of declining natural capital may cast a long shadow into the future. "Nature’s Frontiers: Achieving Sustainability, Efficiency, and Prosperity with Natural Capital" presents a novel approach to address these foundational challenges of sustainability. A methodology combining innovative science, new data sources, and cutting-edge biophysical and economic models builds sustainable resource efficiency frontiers to assess how countries can sustainably use their natural capital more efficiently. The analysis provides recommendations on how countries can better use their natural capital to achieve their economic and environ mental goals. The report indicates that significant efficiency gaps exist in nearly every country. Closing these gaps can address many of the world’s pressing economic and environmental problems—economic productivity, health, food and water security, and climate change. Although the approach outlined in this report will entail demanding policy reforms, the costs of inaction will be far higher.