Blue Flag International

The Blue Flag Programme 2007

The International Blue Flag Jury had its annual meeting on 27 April 2007 to decide on Blue Flag candidates from Europe, Morocco and Canada.

The International Jury decided to award the Blue Flag to 2628 beaches and 629 marinas in 31 countries in the Northern Hemisphere. For the first time one marina in Russia, one marina in Bulgaria and one marina in Lithuania received the Blue Flag award. For Russia, this was the first Blue Flag award in the country. Furthermore one beach in Malta and six beaches and two marinas in Tunisia have successfully entered the pilot phase and receiving Blue Flag Certificates. More detailed information about the 2007 awards will be published on the Blue Flag website www.blueflag.org from 5 June.

Selected Blue Flag marina candidates were evaluated in detail to ensure compliance with the criteria concerning the recyclable waste facilities in the marina, the presence of a map indicating all required facilities, lifesaving equipment in the marina and the posting of safety precautions in the marina. Selected beach candidates were evaluated in detail to ensure the presence of a map indicating all required facilities, presence of recyclable waste facilities at the beach and compliance with the water quality criterion regarding sampling frequency. Also evaluated this year were the composition of the national juries, the outcome of control visits in 2006 and the planning of control visits for 2007.

In 2007, a Blue Flag manual has been published electronically in three languages. It focuses on the development of the Programme in new parts of the world, the process of starting the Blue Flag and the roles and responsibilities of the different actors at the local, national and international levels. This manual has been done in cooperation with UNEP, the UNWTO and was funded by the Caribbean Tourism Project Unit/European Union.

At the next International Jury meeting in September 2007, the outcome of the evaluation of Blue Flag candidate beaches and marinas from South Africa, the countries of the Caribbean, Brazil and New Zealand will be presented.  The Blue Flag programme is looking forward to working with new countries such as Costa Rica and Aruba that have shown interest in the Programme.

The International Jury is composed of representatives from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), International Lifesaving Association (ILS), European Union for Coastal Conservation (EUCC), the World Conservation Union (IUCN), an international Environmental Education expert, the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA) and the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE).