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Activity Funded

Research Center in Natural Resources, Environment and Society

Centro de Estudos de Recursos Naturais, Ambiente e Sociedade

Reference
UID/00681/2025
Project Start Date
2025-01-01
Project End Date
2029-12-31
Principal Investigator
Scientific Area
Agricultural sciences
Funding Program
Avaliação UID 2023/2024

Abstract

CERNAS, the only research center focused on agriculture and the rural world in Portugal's Centro Region, addresses the unique challenges of a climate-transition area. It comprises 99 integrated researchers across four hubs (Coimbra, Castelo Branco, Viseu, Santarém), organized into three research groups. CERNAS aims to boost productivity, enhance regional species and products, promote ecosystem conservation, and leverage environmental services for sustainable development. It develops eco-efficiency tools and innovative strategies to foster rural development. The center emphasizes research excellence and impactful sustainable development, engaging in collaborative design and implementation with local to European stakeholders to drive transformative actions and improve rural governance and dynamics. CERNAS is structured in three research groups, to concentrate the expertise in three major domains: i) forest, agriculture and livestock breeding productivity, are assembled in the Agriculture Science research group; ii) questions related with the valuation of food products through by-product valorization, the development of novel processes and products to improve human health are addressed by the Food Science and Engineering research group; iii) rural development, ecosystem conservation, environmental services, eco-efficiency tools and solutions and the judicious use of natural resources, including land use planning and the measurement of the societal response, are addressed by the Environment and Society research group. The research focus across three areas may limit effectiveness in addressing agro-industrial challenges. Therefore, three transversal themes are established to enhance problem-solving, regional development, and innovation: 1 - Productive system improvement: Develop new biotechnologies to enhance yields and value in plant and animal breeds, leveraging molecular tools and nanotechnology to protect functional food ingredients. 2 - Environmental services and eco-efficiency: Create eco-efficient strategies to bolster growth and manage natural resources, including wildfire management, asset development in marginalized areas, and enhancing eco-efficiency in regional value chains. 3 - Knowledge transfer and governance: Build a smart network involving SMEs to enhance knowledge construction and dissemination. This includes fostering collaborations through strategic R&D projects and solving key business challenges with interface organizations. This approach aims to elevate the scientific and technological capabilities of SMEs, fostering the growth of startups and spin-offs, thereby enhancing income, competitiveness, sustainability, and quality of life.

Institutions

Main Institutions

  • Centro de Investigação de Recursos Naturais Ambiente e Sociedade (CERNAS)
  • Universidade Politécnica de Coimbra (IPC)

Other Institutions

  • Universidade Politécnica de Viseu (IPV)
  • Universidade Politécnica de Castelo Branco (UPCB)
  • Universidade Politécnica de Santarém (IPS)

Funding 623.080,42 €

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Portugal

623.080,42 €