Carsten Smith-Hall

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Carsten Smith-Hall (previously Smith Olsen) is Professor in Forest and People in Developing Countries. He has directed a string of international and interdisciplinary research programmes and published in both natural and social science journals. His research is particularly focused on (i) environment - livelihood relationships, including the role of environmental products in preventing and reducing poverty, (ii) forests and human health, in particular the role of forests in maintaining and improving welfare in low-income countries, and (iii) commercial utilisation of biodiversity, with emphasis on trade and conservation issues. Recent work has focused on (i) developing methods to measure the economic importance of environmental products to rural livelihoods in the Global South, and (ii) collecting and analysing data that has documented this importance. He has also been instrumental in developing the global knowledge base on environmental products, including through research on Nepalese medicinal plants, and in empirical and theoretical advancements of understanding the role of environmental products in livelihoods dynamics. He serves on the editorial boards of several international journals. In teaching, he is Head of Studies for the MSc in Environment and Development and has a long history of developing and implementing international initiatives, including as co-ordinator for the global Erasmus Mundus PhD programme Forest and Nature for Society. He is a strong advocate of internationalisation of university teaching and a pioneer in the development and application of use of technology in teaching (e-learning).