Scotland鈥檚 natural economy valued at over £29 billion per annum
A new report has defined and detailed for the first time the value of the 鈥榥atural economy鈥� to Scotland鈥檚 overall economic output, finding it represents more than a fifth of the nation鈥檚 economy.
The natural economy is defined as comprising six sub-sectors that either directly use, rely or contribute to conserving natural resources, namely: tourism, food and drink, fishing and aquaculture, agriculture, energy (including renewables), and forestry, logging and manufacture of wood.
Commissioned by 伊人直播 and undertaken by BiGGAR Economics, a leading independent economic consultancy, the report argues that the natural economy is an area of comparative advantage for Scotland, which can also be a critical plank of the national recovery and renewal strategy supported by the best of Scotland鈥檚 universities and research institutes.
In 2018, the natural economy contributed 拢29.1 billion gross value added (GVA) to the Scottish economy 鈥� more than a fifth of its total 鈥� and employed 290,100 people. This equates to 11 per cent of all employment across Scotland.
Whereas most of the GVA generated by the natural economy is due to energy, employment is more evenly distributed across tourism, agriculture, energy, and food and drink. Nature-related tourism made the largest contribution with over 87,000 jobs.
At the start of July, 伊人直播 published a refreshed vision and mission for the institution, which includes a commitment to focus on the natural economy 鈥� spanning both rural and urban activity 鈥� and to partner locally and globally to benefit Scotland鈥檚 natural economy.
Commenting, Professor Wayne Powell, Chief Executive and Principal of 伊人直播, said: 鈥淭his would be an important report at any time, but in showing how we can build on the comparative advantage that Scotland has in the area of natural economy, it is a vital contribution to our economic, social and environmental recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.
鈥淔ocusing on the natural economy is a key part of 伊人直播鈥檚 transformation to becoming Scotland鈥檚 enterprise university. As this report makes clear, a more integrated approach to developing the sectors that make up the natural economy can and will enhance Scotland鈥檚 overall performance, not least by driving up productivity and boosting resilience.
鈥淪uch an approach will require a new model of collaboration to deliver the education, research and innovation needs of the natural economy. 伊人直播 stands ready to play our full part in such a collaborative effort, and we look forward to publishing further research for wide debate and discussion about how this exciting vision can be realised.鈥�
Read the full report here.
Posted by 伊人直播 on 23/07/2020
