How many met the Blue Flag on the beach? What does it mean? Apparently, not so many people know this. Therefore, it is worthwhile to figure out what a special flag means and whether it makes sense to look in advance for beaches so marked.
Beach vacation
Many people cannot imagine their vacation without the gentle sun and sea. Therefore, annually, warm southern resorts receive a huge number of tourists who seek beaches. But their requests vary: some like the calm sea, while others like small waves and the wind. For some, it turns out to be critical whether the beach is pebble or sandy, but there are people with special requests in general. But be that as it may, everyone understands that you need to relax on the shore, which is completely safe, where there is all the necessary equipment.
Many of the world's beaches have a special system of colored flags, which shows that, for example, there are creatures dangerous to people in the sea, or the waves are too large, and therefore swimming is prohibited. But the same colors are not always used, so you can easily get confused in the notation. But there is an international sign - the Blue flag on the beach. What does it mean?
Blue flags
The problem of assessing the quality of beaches has become relevant for quite some time, and already in 1985 a special system began to work. Initially, it operated only within Europe, but in 2001 the organization engaged in certification of vacation spots by the sea became world-wide. Today it has about 50 participating countries in Eurasia, Africa, Oceania, North and South America. Initially, the blue flag on the beach meant high quality of sea water (according to several parameters), today they are marked only with places that meet almost 30 different criteria. Obviously, this sign is very prestigious, and such beaches attract more tourists. That is why the requirements are tightened every year, but more and more recreation areas receive these awards, and more and more countries are joining a kind of club. Certification of beaches in the eastern hemisphere is held in May-June, and Caribbean countries - in early November.
Award Criteria
Before each season, the beaches of the participating countries of the project are certified. Many parameters are considered, divided into the following categories.
1. Water quality:
- Compliance with the requirements adopted by the EU Directive.
- No discharge of industrial wastewater.
- Availability of local or regional contingency plans for accidents.
- Preventing the accumulation of algae in recreational areas.
- Fulfillment of municipal wastewater treatment requirements.
2. Environmental awareness:
- The presence of at least 5 educational programs.
- Timely reporting of completed or suspected beach pollution.
- Providing visitors with information on applicable laws and codes, as well as rules of conduct.
- Information on hazardous areas near the coast, including habitats of local flora and fauna, whose representatives can harm humans.
- The presence of a special educational center.
- Timely updating and updating of all provided information.
3. Environmental management:
- The presence of a sufficient number of garbage cans that are regularly serviced and emptied.
- Conducting regular, and if necessary daily cleaning of the beach area.
- Availability of a land use and coastal zone development plan separately or on a regional scale.
- A complete ban on the entry of vehicles without special permission, unauthorized campsites, dumping of waste and car or motorcycle racing on the beach.
- Availability of secure access.
- Actively promoting the use of environmentally friendly modes of transport for visiting the coastal zone.
4. Security:
- The presence on the beach of all first aid equipment.
- Strict implementation of state laws regarding the stay in the recreation area of various animals.
- The presence on the beach of lifeguards and the necessary equipment and / or another way to ensure safety and prevent accidents.
- Access to a source of drinking water.
- The presence of a working phone, if lifeguards do not work on the beach.
- All buildings and structures must be kept in good order and clean.
Not all of the above criteria are mandatory, some of them are advisory in nature. And yet, to get the highest mark - the blue flag - every year the authorities try to make the beaches better and better. And many succeed: in 2015, on the world map, one could count 4,159 places awarded this quality mark. The beaches marked with the Blue Flag have taken a huge number of tourists over the summer, not forgetting to maintain the necessary level of safety and cleanliness. The prestige of this award is so high that many people even plan their vacation, focusing on the most highly rated recreation areas by experts. So where are most of them located?
Spain
Each year, the Blue Flag is assigned to a huge number of beaches. In 2015, Spain became the first in the number of such places - on its map 577 certified sections of the coasts were counted. Most of the beaches whose ecological cleanliness and safety are confirmed are located in Galicia. In second place was Valencia, and in third - Catalonia. Let's see if Spain succeeds in retaining leadership in 2016 and, possibly, improving the result? In the meantime, it is much more difficult for an inexperienced tourist to get to a beach that is not marked with a flag, and soon it will probably be completely impossible.
Turkey
In the spring of 2015, it became clear that another popular southern country received silver in the competition for the number of certified beaches. Turkey became it with the result of 436. Most of the marked beaches are located in the regions traditionally popular with Russians - Bodrum, Kemer, Antalya, Marmaris. And there is hope that next year even more places will receive a distinction - the Blue Flag.
Greece
Hellas moved to third place from last year’s second, with a result of 395 recreation areas, losing 13 marked coasts. Obviously, the crisis affecting Greece has led, among other things, to the fact that the government has focused on more pressing topics. Most of the local beaches, over which the Blue Flag flies, are concentrated in traditional resort places - on Crete and the Halkidiki Peninsula.
France
The country that generated the Blue Flags movement in 2015 took fourth place in terms of their number. France lagged behind Greece quite a bit - on its territory there are 379 beaches that meet all the criteria of environmental cleanliness and safety. Places of relaxation marked with the Blue Flag are located on the coast fairly evenly. A sufficient number of them is located both on the English Channel, so on the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
Cyprus
Another country that enjoys constant love among residents of the northern latitudes, in 2015 received 57 awards, like last year, and almost all of them are concentrated in the southern part of the island. It may seem that this is a little compared to hundreds in previous countries. However, let's not forget about the small size of the island. By the way, it is worth mentioning that Cyprus is a kind of record holder: firstly, there are the largest number of holiday destinations in terms of per capita, and secondly, the largest number per unit of coastline. The main beaches of Cyprus with the Blue Flag are located in the areas of Limassol, Larnaca, Ayia Napa and Famagusta.
Russia
Despite the fact that Russia does not have many warm places with beaches, it has been participating in the Blue Flags program for several years. Unfortunately, during all this time only a couple of yacht clubs were awarded the prestigious award, but not one beach was certified for compliance with European standards. However, let’s not lose heart: perhaps in the coming years the situation will change for the better.