BIOECONOMY – OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS IN MALOPOLSKA VOIVODSHIP (POLAND)

Abstract

The main objective of the article is to indicate the main challenges and development opportunities related to the bioeconomy, shown in the regional layout on the example of the Małopolska voivodeship.
The theoretical part of a paper is basing on a review of the literature regarding a concept of bioeconomy. It finds is conclusions in a model of 'bio-economy triad of challenges', that the conventional economy is facing. The issues of bioeconomy in this paper are presented in a context of:

• processes taking place between enterprises, consumers and the state,
• challenges for qualitative and quantitative economic development.

Referring to the above-mentioned model, it was stated that the bioeconomy should be the main direction of development as part of the smart specialization strategy for Małopolska. This will allow, among others development of functional value chains, increasing the added value of production and the possibility of sustainable management of natural resources.
Attention was also paid to conditions of development that may constitute significant barriers in shaping the bio-profile of the economy on a regional basis:

• environmental, in the sense of sustainable access to natural resources;
• social, understood as the quality of social capital and access to a qualified workforce;
• institutional, being the state's responsibility and related to the law, providing adequate infrastructure or adequate expenditures for R&D.

It was noticed that Małopolska is characterized by a dual development model - on the one hand, we are dealing with sectors of modern technologies concentrated in the provincial city and some poviat cities. On the other hand, when we talk about the raw material sphere, one can talk about development destimulants, i.e. agrarian structure, the problem of fallowing land or the lack of a qualified workforce in rural areas.

Keywords: bioeconomy, Malopolska voivodship, opportunities and threats of bioeconomy, sustainable development

Article DOI: http://doi.org/10.15544/RD.2017.252