Blue Flag International is pleased to announce the results of the Blue Flag International Jury meeting for sites in the Southern Hemisphere; the full list of awarded sites is now available on the Blue Flag International website. An exciting highlight of this year’s evaluation is the expansion of the programme into new countries in Asia and South America, with the International Jury awarding the first Blue Flags to beaches in India and Chile.
The Blue Flag International Jury met on 6 October to award 157 Southern Hemisphere sites for the 2020-2021 season. The sites include 126 beaches, 16 marinas and 15 tourism boats across 9 countries in the Caribbean, South America, Africa and the Indian Ocean region. With the newly awarded sites, there are now 4,671 sites flying the Blue Flag in 48 countries around the world.
“What makes Blue Flag unique as a programme is that it can reach down to local communities, but on a global level!” said Blue Flag International Jury member Ivor Abrose from the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), summarising how the Blue Flag programme connects local communities to global issues.
Blue Flag firsts in India and Chile
After several years of hard work, dedication and cooperation, India has achieved Blue Flag awards for eight beaches around the country.
Kartikeya Sarabhai, Director of the Centre for Environment Education and Blue Flag India said, “I am happy that India has been awarded the Blue Flag for eight beaches. Our team from Blue Flag India and National Jury, are privileged to have been able to facilitate the process and wish to commend the key role of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Govt. of India in fostering partnerships with the State Governments and local administration to initiate the journey towards achieving Blue Flag award. We cherish our association with FEE as the representative member for India and shall continue to nurture Blue Flag as a transformative platform, creating opportunities for empowering stakeholders to contribute positively towards sustainable coastal management.”
Blue Flag International would like to congratulate all the stakeholders in India who collaborated to bring about this well-earned accomplishment. India’s successful implementation of the Blue Flag programme is an example of how countries can achieve sustainable coastal management and protect their coastal ecosystems while also attracting new visitors and promoting responsible tourism.
“Eight Indian beaches being conferred with the Blue Flag award is a testimony of concerted and collective participation of the State Governments, Local Administration, Beach Management Committees and various stakeholders in the project. The Ministry is extremely thankful for the continued support of other Ministries and their organisations of Government of India towards this initiative,” said R.P. Gupta, Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. You can read the full statement from the Secretary here.
In addition to the great success in India, the first beach in Chile has also received a Blue Flag award this year. The Blue Flag National Operator in Chile, Fundación Educarse, has managed to comply with the stringent set of Blue Flag criteria after participating in the programme for only one year. This is indeed quite an impressive achievement, as new countries usually require a two-to-three-year pilot period before obtaining their first Blue Flag.
Upon receiving the good news, Antonio Hirane Castaño, Executive Director of Fundación Educarse said, “We are very happy that the Municipalidad de Zapallar with Playa Grande de Cachagua has become the first in Chile and the Southern Cone to obtain the Blue Flag award. We have no doubts that a conscious and systematic work around the programme, such as the one they carried out, will allow many other beaches in our country to fly the flag in the near future. We are very keen to continue working with them, and other localities, to be a real contribution to the sustainable development of our coastal and lake communities.”
The Blue Flag International Jury commends all the awarded countries and sites for their continued dedication and commitment to protecting our coasts and oceans, especially considering the unprecedented challenges many have faced this year due to the ongoing global pandemic.
Best Practice Competition
In addition to awarding Blue Flag sites, the International Jury also reviewed submissions from the Southern Hemisphere for the 2020 Blue Flag Best Practice Competition. The theme of this year’s Best Practice Competition was pollution, and the jury was highly impressed with the many Blue Flag sites that have achieved exceptional outcomes from their efforts to keep our coasts and oceans healthy.
First place was awarded to the Dominican Republic for their “Wave of Change” initiative, which was implemented by the Iberostar Group at all three of their hotels in the country with the goals of reducing single-use plastics, promoting sustainable fishing, improving coastal health and providing environmental education to local communities.
The U.S. Virgin Islands came in second place with their watershed education outreach project that involved a 2-year assessment of the Smith Bay/Water Bay area in St. Thomas, followed by an informational brochure, numerous coastal clean-ups and educational activities about watershed pollution and protection.
India received the third place recognition for their integrated beach pollution facilities for waste and water management. All eight Blue Flag beaches in India were developed based on a “Zero Waste and Zero Pollution” concept, and have also been conducting “I am saving my beach” awareness campaigns for the last three years.
To learn more about the three winners, and to view many more inspiring best practice examples across a wide range of topics from Blue Flag sites around the world, visit the Blue Flag best practice database at www.blueflag.global/best-practices.
About the Blue Flag International Jury
The International Blue Flag Jury is composed of representatives from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), International Lifesaving Federation (ILS), the European Environment Agency (EEA), the European Union for Coastal Conservation (EUCC), the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA), the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), the World Cetacean Alliance (WCA) and the Foundation for Environmental Education. You can learn more about each of the jury members on the Blue Flag website: www.blueflag.global/international-jury
The next meeting of the Blue Flag International Jury will take place on 13 April 2021 to award beaches, marinas and tourism boats from the Northern Hemisphere.
The Blue Flag International Jury met on 6 October 2020 to award sites in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Foundation for Environmental Education runs the Blue Flag programme: https://www.fee.global
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