Person:
Smith, Jeffrey

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Fields of Specialization
Biodiversity, Climate change, Land-use change
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ORCID
0000-0001-5768-216X
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Jeffrey R. Smith
Princeton University, High Meadows Environmental Institute
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Last updated: February 21, 2024
Biography
Jeffrey is currently a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University working with Dr. Jonathan Levine to understand how nature-based climate solutions are likely to affect biodiversity. Prior to starting at Princeton, Jeffrey completed my PhD at Stanford University working with Dr. Gretchen Daily studying the impacts of climate change and land-use change on biodiversity. Before this, Jeffrey obtained a Masters of Environmental Science from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where he worked with Dr. Os Schmitz to determine how New England old-field arthropod food webs varied along a suburban-forest gradient. Jeffrey received his Bachelor of Science (in Ecology and Environmental Science) from the University of Delaware. While there he researched biological control of invasive weeds and restoration ecology with Dr. Judy Hough-Goldstein.

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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.
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    Urban Nature and Biodiversity for Cities: Policy Brief
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-09) Guerry, Anne D.; Smith, Jeffrey R.; Lonsdorf, Eric; Daily, Gretchen C.; Wang, Xueman; Chun, Yuna; Smith, Jeffrey
    This is the urban century; over half of humanity now lives in cities and more than 70 percent are expected to do so by 2050. Today, cities are hubs of social interchange, economic vitality, and innovation. Yet the pace and scale of global transformation in where and how people live pose threats to biodiversity and nature that demand serious attention. In today’s complex world, it is natural - and sometimes necessary - to compartmentalize sectors and realms of experience. Thus, urban planning traditionally occurs without much consideration of biodiversity and nature. It is therefore imperative that cities are designed in ways that maintain the provision of ecosystem services and that national and international conservation plans consider urban centers. This report presents the scientific basis for why and how incorporating biodiversity and nature into urban design is crucial for achieving sustainability, livability, resilience, and equity in cities and beyond. Section one defines key terms and concepts, section two examines what is at stake regarding urban nature and biodiversity, section three explores what urban leaders can do to promote them, section four offers some practical tools and approaches for incorporating urban nature and biodiversity into urban decision-making, and section five concludes.