Blue Flag is a notable voluntary award conferred to beaches, marinas and sustainable boating tourism operators for maintaining and meeting the criteria of a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety and accessibility. The award is managed by the Foundation for Environmental Education in Denmark. In a first, eight of India’s beaches including Shivrajpur (Dwarka-Gujarat), Ghoghla (Diu), Kasarkod and Padubidri (Karnataka), Kappad (Kerala), Rushikonda (AP), Golden Beach (Odisha) and Radhanagar (A&N Islands) got the eco-label of Blue Flag in a row.
The Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar took to his twitter handle to announce this wonderful news of India not just getting international recognition for cleanliness and coastal development but also the first nation in the world to get a Blue Flag certificate for eight beaches. He tweeted, “An outstanding feat, as no #BLUEFLAG nation has ever been awarded for 8 beaches in a single attempt (sic).” He added, “Proud moment for India; all 8 beaches recommended by government gets coveted International #Blueflag Certification.”
While speaking to the media, Javadekar shared, “The #Blueflag certification accorded to India’s 8 beaches by an international jury comprising of @IUCN, @UNWTO, @UNEP etc. is also a global recognition of India’s conservation and sustainable development efforts .” As per the statement released by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change revealed that India received the third prize by the International Jury under the “International Best Practices” for pollution control in coastal parts of the country. These tags are very important for boating India’s tourism industry not only for domestic but international level as well.
While Japan, South Korea and UAE have been awarded a couple of Blue Flag beaches in a period of 5 to 6 years, Javadekar stated that India has become the first country in “Asia-Pacific” region to attain this achievement in just about 2 years and is now in the league of 50 “BLUE FLAG” countries.
4600 beaches, marinas and boats from over 50 countries so far have been awarded Blue Flag Certification. Spain holds the highest Blue Flag-tagged sites.