On September 21, two Indian seashores, Puducherry’s Eden seashore (Chinna Veerampattinam) and Tamil Nadu’s Kovalam (also called Covelong) seashore close to Chennai made their strategy to the record of Blue Flag licensed seashores on the planet, a worldwide initiative by Basis for Environmental Training based mostly in Denmark.
Asserting the information, Bhupendra Yadav, Union Cupboard Minister for Setting, Forest & Local weather Change wrote:
Completely satisfied to announce India now has 10 Worldwide Blue Flag seashores with the addition of Kovalam & Eden seashores this yr and recertification for 8 seashores which bought the tag in 2020. One other milestone in our journey in the direction of a clear and inexperienced India led by PM Shri @NarendraModi Ji. pic.twitter.com/UzocIJhyzD
— Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp) September 21, 2021
It was solely in October 2020 that India made its manner into the record of nations which have its seashores ‘Blue Flag’ licensed. The eight Indian seashores that originally obtained the blue tag (implying clear, inexperienced, and sustainable within the marine context) had been Shivrajpur at Dwarka, Gujarat, Ghoghla in Diu, Kasarkod and Padubidri in Karnataka, Kappad in Kerala, Rushikonda in Andhra Pradesh, Golden Seaside at Puri, Odisha and Radhanagar at Havelock in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Other than making an entry into the coveted Blue Flag seashores record, in 2020, India obtained third place recognition for built-in seashore air pollution amenities for waste and water administration.
In line with the Blue Flag official web site, all of the eight seashores had been developed based mostly on a “Zero Waste and Zero Air pollution” idea, and have been recognized to be conducting “I’m saving my seashore” consciousness campaigns for the previous few years.
What’s the Blue Flag certification?
The Blue Flag Programme for seashores and marinas is run by the Basis for Environmental Training (FEE), a global, non-governmental and non-profit group. What started in 1985 as a French initiative to develop and certify sustainable, inexperienced and clear seashores, unfold to the European continent in 1987, later taking up the worldwide shores.
At present, almost 47 nations and greater than 4,500 seashores are part of FEE’s Blue Flag program selling sustainability within the tourism sector by environmental training, environmental safety and different sustainable improvement practices. FEE Denmark conducts common monitoring and audits for strict compliance with the 33 standards always. A waving “Blue Flag” is a sign of one hundred pc compliance to those 33 stringent standards and sound well being of the seashore.
Europe, house to most Blue Flag seashores
Other than seashores, FEE’s Blue Flag program additionally certifies marinas and boats that meet its sustainable and clear power standards. In line with the blue flag websites map out there on its web site, whereas most blue flag seashores are within the European continent, with the best quantity in Spain (614), France has the best variety of blue flag marinas (115). Nevertheless, solely 81 boats on the planet have been licensed thus far by FEE’s flagship program, most of them within the Mexican waters.