ENVIRONMENTAL COMPETITIVENESS OF REGIONS

Abstract

The quality of the environment plays a signifi cant role in supporting regional development. Whenever a region is viewed as the space it occupies, a clean environment is one of the fundamental conditions of the region’s competitiveness, including its environmental advantage. The environmental competitivenss can be analysed in terms of the natural conditions ocurring in a given region as well as their skillful transformation into social and economic effects, which will contribute to a more rapid development of this region. The main purpose of this study has been to identify the level of competitivenss and environmental competitiveness of regions (Polish provinces) by calculating values of the Perkal index, and to determine the correlation coeffi cients for the competitiveness and environmental competitiveness between the regions. The provinces in Poland distinguished by a positive and high value of the Perkal index are:  mazowieckie, śląskie, wielkopolskie, followed subsequently by małopolskie, dolnośląskie and pomorskie.  The regions which possess the highest environmental competitive advantage are: lubuskie,  pomorskie, zachodniopomorskie and warmińsko-mazurskie. Negative correlation was determined between the indicators of competitiveness and environmental competitivenss achieved in our study. 
However, it is a weak correlation. Thus, there is no ground to worry that the economic development will lead to some considerable deterioration of the natural environment. On the contrary, positive effects of the growth in economy on the natural surroundings should not be neglected.