Blue Flag Certification For 2 More Beaches In India: Know More About Eco-Tags

Indian beaches attract a large number of tourists every year from within the country as well as from outside. With its growing popularity, two more beaches from the country have received the international "Blue Flag" certification, awarded to the cleanest beaches in the world. The newest addition with the Blue Flag tag are the beaches of Minicoy Thundi Beach and Kadmat Beach in Lakshadweep.

India now has a total of 12 "blue beaches", including Shivrajpur, Ghoghla, Kasarkod and Padubidri, Kappad, Rushikonda, Radhanagar, Golden, Kovalam, and Eden.

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav took his elation over the news to Twitter on October 26 and said, "Proud moment! Two more Indian beaches have made it to the list of Blue beaches." Joining in on the celebrations was Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who congratulated the people of Lakshadweep for this feat.

This is great! Congratulations, particularly to the people of Lakshadweep, for this feat. India's coastline is remarkable and there is also a great amount of passion among our people to further coastal cleanliness. https://t.co/4gRsWussRt

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 26, 2022

Here's looking back at what exactly is the Blue Flag certification and why the global recognition needs to be celebrated.

What Is The Blue Flag Certification?

The certification is an eco-label awarded to beaches and marinas around the world by the Denmark-based non-profit Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). It has been recognised as 'one of the world's most recognised voluntary awards for beaches, marinas, and sustainable boating tourism operators', and qualifying for the flag requires dedicated efforts invested into environmental, educational, safety, and accessibility criteria.

It was launched in France in 1985 to advocate for sustainable development in freshwater and marine areas across the categories of water quality, environmental management, environmental education and safety. Awarded annually among the FEE member countries, there are currently 5,042 beaches, marinas, and tourism boats that have been recognised under this initiative.

According to a report by FirstPost, Spain has the highest number of Blue beaches, with 614 recognitions as of 2021, followed shortly by Greece and Turkey.

Criteria To Qualify For The Certification

Currently, there are 33 criteria by which the applicants must qualify to be labelled a Blue beach. This can be broken down to understand from three perspectives - Educational, Environmental, and Accessibility.

In regard to the educational aspect, information should be readily made available to the beachgoers or conveyed to them through some forum. This includes information regarding bathing water quality, local ecosystems, environmental elements and cultural sites. Appropriate display boards should also be installed to convey the code of conduct and appropriate laws and regulations for the use of the beach and surrounding areas.

As for the environmental aspect, it is mandatory to maintain the beach and surrounding regions, such as the parking areas and access paths, in a clean manner. All buildings and related beach equipment must be integrated well within the natural and built environment.

It should adhere to construction standards and meet certain environmental requirements. Furthermore, they should also often observe environmental education activities that promote the idea of environmental protection and sustainability.

Alongside the construction requirements, it should be ensured that the beach is accessible. There must be adequate number of toilet or restroom facilities, with proper and controlled sewage disposal systems. While they strongly believe that beaches need to be equipped with facilities that are accessible for the physically disabled, their criteria requires that at least one Blue Flag beach in each municipality must be disable-friendly.

Other infrastructure, such as drinking water and first aid, must be made available at the beach. The beaches should also prohibit activities such as unauthorised camping, driving, dumping, and walking pets.

Also Read: First-Of-Its-Kind! India To Conduct Mega-Coastal Cleanup Drive Across 75 Beaches For 75 Days