Union Minister Prakash Javadekar lauded this as an “outstanding feat” citing that “no BLUE FLAG” country has ever been awarded for 8 beaches in a “single attempt”. (Image- Prakash Javadekar Twitter)Wow, India is now the first country in the world to receive the Blue Flag Certification for 8 beaches in a single attempt! New Blue Flag beaches of India are Radhanagar in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Golden beach in Odisha’s Puri, Andhra Pradesh’s Rushikonda, Kerala’s Kappad, Diu’s Ghoghla, Gujarat’s Shivrajpur, and Karnataka’s Kasarkod and Padubidri beaches, as per details shared by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
What is Blue Flag Certification and what it means for beaches?
Blue Flag is awarded by an International Jury comprising of eminent members of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), FEE, and IUCN. The award is given to the safest, cleanest, and environment-friendly beaches of the world.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar lauded this as an “outstanding feat” citing that “no BLUE FLAG” country has ever been awarded for 8 beaches in a “single attempt”. Javadekar has said that Blue Flag Certification has come as a global recognition for India’s “conservation and sustainable development efforts”. India has also become the first nation in the Asia-Pacific category to achieve the feat in about 2 years, Javadekar tweeted.
In Asia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Japan, and South Korea have managed to receive Blue Flag certification for a couple of beaches. However, the aforementioned countries managed to achieve recognition in a “time frame of around 5 to 6 years.” India has now entered the bloc of 50 “BLUE FLAG” nations. The government of India has taken pride in this honour to the nation. The central government is planning to take this journey forward to 100 such beaches in the country in the next five years, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said in a statement.
India had started the development of pilot beaches (one each in coastal states/UTs) in 2018. Subsequently, the government of India presented the first set of 8 beaches for the certification for the “tourist season” of 2020, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said.
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