CERNAS – Research Centre for Natural Resources, Environment and Society is a research unit recognised by the Portuguese  National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (FCT).Our aim is to conduct research in the fields of Agriculture, Food Science and Engineering, Environment and Society, promoting sustainable development on a regional basis as part of a global intervention.

For 2015-2020 period, CERNAS established three research groups to concentrate the expertise:

• The Environment and Society Research Group is coordinated by Dr. António José Dinis Ferreira and deals with questions related to the 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.

• The Agriculture Science Research Group is coordinated by Dr. Kiril Bachevandziev and deals with questions related to forest, agriculture and animal production systems.

• The Food Science and Engineering Research Group is coordinated by Dr. Luís Pedro Mota Pinto de Andrade and deals with fields related with the valorization of food products, the development of novel products and processes, by-product valorization and waste minimization and the studies of human nutrition.

To focus the research groups on the relevant themes for regional development, three topical strands were defined, allowing for a more judicious use of resources and promoting productivity and competitiveness based on innovation .

1. Topical Strand  – Innovation in production systems and value added products, coordinated by Dr. Carlos José Dias Pereira.

2. Topical Strand – Environmental services and eco-efficiency, coordinated by  Dr. Carla Sofia Santos Ferreira.

3. Topical Strand  – Knowledge transfer and governance, coordinated by   Dr. Orlando Marcelino de Almeida Simões.