What Is Blue Flag Certification And What Is It's Value?

Normally blue is the color of clean and pure and the Blue Flag is one of the world’s most recognized voluntary awards for beaches, marinas and sustainable boating tourism operators. In India to qualify for the Blue Flag, a series of stringent environmental,educational, safety and accessibility criteria must be met and maintained. It was started in 1987.

There is a foundation for Environmental Education(FEE) the Blue Flag is certified by FEE. On the basis of qualities, beaches, marina or water quality, sustainable boating tourism operation acquire the tag. Plus the safety, environmental education, information, the provision of services and general environmental management criteria etc. are also included. It is a trademark owned by FEE which is a not-for-profit non-governmental organization consisting of 65 organizations in 60 member countries. Spain has held the 1st position for nearly a decade since the award began.

In the list of Blue Flag tags Indian beaches are also there. The eight Indian beaches which got this tag are Shivrajpur (Dwarka, Gujarat), Ghoghla (Diu), Kasarkod and Padubidri (Karnataka), Kappad (Kerala), Rushikonda (Andhra Pradesh), Golden Beach (Puri, Odisha) and Radhanagar (Andaman & Nicobar Islands). These Blue Flag beaches are considered the cleanest beaches of the world.

According to the source, central to the ideals of the Blue Flag Programme is the aim of connecting the public with their surroundings and encouraging them to learn more about their environment. As such environmental education activities must be offered and promoted in addition to a permanent display of information relevant to the site in forms of biodiversity, ecosystems and environmental phenomena.