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South African Local Authorities once again awarded international Blue Flag status for their beaches
2008/11/07
Cape Town and Nelson Mandela Metro (including Port Elizabeth) between them have 10 of the 19 South African beaches that were officially awarded Blue Flag status for the 2008/09 season on 5 November 2008, at a ceremony in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Both local authorities, the City of Cape Town and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality, are active members of ICLEI.
The Blue Flag is an international annual award given to beaches/marinas that continually meet strict criteria in areas of water quality, environmental education and information, environmental management, and safety and other services. Not all beaches are graded by the organisation - only those where the respective municipality/local authority has applied to receive a Blue Flag. To date, there are 2 633 awarded beaches and 620 awarded marinas in total worldwide.
Blue Flag in South Africa
In South Africa, Blue Flag is managed by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) in partnership with the national Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. South Africa’s Blue Flag beaches are sustaining excellence in beach management and rate among the top beaches in the world. The Blue Flag campaign is proving highly successful and there has been a significant increase in response from local authorities wishing to implement the campaign. The number of beaches entering the campaign as pilot is indicative of the growing interest in Blue Flag South Africa. This year, South African municipalities applied to have 35 beaches accredited. The remaining 16 beaches were granted pilot status and could be Blue Flag beaches by 2010.
Six beaches in Cape Town have been awarded the coveted Blue Flag status for 2008/9:
Four beaches in Port Elizabeth were also accredited Blue Flag status for 2008/9:
Other South African Blue Flag beaches for 2008/9 are:
About the Blue Flag
The Blue Flag is a voluntary eco-label awarded to over 3 200 beaches and marinas in 37 countries across Europe, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, New Zealand, Canada and the Caribbean.
The Blue Flag Programme is owned and run by the independent non-profit organisation, Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), which has its head office in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Blue Flag Programme includes environmental education and information for the public, decision makers and tourism operators.
How is the Blue Flag awarded?
The Blue Flag is awarded to beaches that comply with fourteen stringent Blue Flag criteria on a regular basis. The Blue Flag criteria cover four aspects of coastal management:
More information
Blue Flag Programme
FEE International
Blue Flag South Africa