The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has unveiled the areas which it is to prioritise with regards to investment.
Moves by the government department - unveiled in its new Evidence Investment Strategy - indicate that some £240 million was spent on evidence-related areas - such as research and surveillance - in 2009-10.
However, with calls made highlighting the need for good-quality evidence, those seeking environmental health jobs may want to note that the EIS states that protecting ecosystems and tackling climate change must be focused on.
In addition, work on developing a sustainable food policy has been deemed as a particularly pertinent area.
"There has never been a time when there was a greater need for good quality evidence to contribute to policymaking and sound decisions," Professor Bob Watson, chief scientific adviser at Defra, states.
Such news comes as Defra revealed last year that the creation of the Food and Environment Research Agency would bring together several research divisions, such as the Central Science Laboratory and Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate, in a move aimed at strengthening the department's work in plant and crop protection, environmental risk assessment and food chain safety.
