Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Research: Strategy 2027 to 2032

Foreword by the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands

Scotland’s natural environment is at the heart of our national identity, our wellbeing, and our economy. Our landscapes, ecosystems, and natural resources are vital, not only for our prosperity, health and wellbeing, but also for our ability to adapt to the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. Scotland’s natural environment underpins our wellbeing and the long term strength of our economy. Our landscapes, biodiversity, soils and water support multi billion pound sectors including agriculture, food and drink, forestry, tourism and the growing bioeconomy. ENRA funded research reinforces these foundations by boosting productivity, driving innovation, supporting high-value jobs, and helping rural and island economies adapt and thrive in a changing climate.

Our Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture research programme plays a pivotal role in shaping evidence-based responses to these challenges. This investment reflects our deep commitment to building climate resilience, restoring ecosystems, increasing biodiversity, securing food production and supporting rural livelihoods.

The research funded through this programme is already delivering impact, informing key policy decisions across government, including on priority areas such as climate change, agricultural reform, peatland restoration, and environmental protection. It is also supporting sustainable economic growth in rural and island communities and food security by delivering new vaccines for livestock, pioneering new regenerative crop systems and transforming the efficiency and sustainability of our dairy industry.

This strategy outlines our future research priorities, including climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable land use, biodiversity and ecosystem restoration, rural and island economic resilience, plant and animal health, and the management of water resources, for scarcity and excess. We are also extending our research into new areas, including improving Scotland’s wildfire risk assessment and efforts to enhance the resilience of Scotland’s food system by identifying key strengths and vulnerabilities and fostering innovation.

The focus of this strategy is to ensure that the research we fund has real world impact not only for our environment but also for communities and national resilience. We are also keen to ensure that research outputs are enabled, as well as support to the wider economy (through innovation and best practice), via a network of Living Labs across Scotland. These are real-world testbeds where communities, agencies, researchers, and land managers collaborate to trial and scale up innovative solutions to support adaptive land and water management, biodiversity restoration, and climate-smart practices tailored to local needs. They support experimentation and evidence-based policymaking in real-world settings, enabling co-creation of research with citizens and stakeholders, supporting systemic change in complex areas.

The value of this research investment is clear. The previous ENRA Research Programme (2016-22) directly and indirectly supported 1,900 research jobs in Scotland, underpinning world-leading strengths in biosciences. This programme generated between £470 million and £680 million in economic impact, with every £1 invested generating an average return of £2.40 for Scotland. This impact continues: ENRA investment allowed Scottish institutes to secure additional investment from other funders of £39 million in 2023-24 alone. The programme has also supported the creation of spinout companies and wider commercialisation activity. For the next programme, we must develop and enhance the economic return still further by building stronger and more diverse partnerships within Scotland and abroad.