Eight Indian beaches bring home the honour of Blue Flag Certification, making the country the first in all of Asia Pacific region, to receive this award in two years time. By Tanvi Jain
8 of India’s serene beaches get the prestigious Blue Flag Certification. This showcases the importance India attaches to protecting such spots and furthering sustainable development.
Truly a wonderful feat! https://t.co/dy02H7AyaD
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 11, 2020
In a first, eight Indian beaches have made the country proud by bagging Blue Flag certification — “one of the world’s most recognised voluntary awards for beaches, marinas, and sustainable boating tourism operators, which requires meeting and maintaining a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety, and accessibility criteria.” The award is operated by the Foundation for Environmental Education, Denmark.
These beaches include Ghoghla in Diu, Shivrajpur in Dwarka, Gujarat, Kappad in Kerala, Kasarkod and Padubidri in Karnataka, Radhanagar in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Golden Beach in Odisha and Rushikonda in Andhra Pradesh.
“8 of India’s serene beaches get the prestigious Blue Flag Certification. This showcases the importance India attaches to protecting such spots and furthering sustainable development. Truly a wonderful feat!” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet.
Proud moment for India; all 8 beaches recommended by government gets coveted International #Blueflag Certification.@narendramodi pic.twitter.com/j38BTnibl0
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) October 11, 2020
“An outstanding feat, as no #BLUEFLAG nation has ever been awarded for 8 beaches in a single attempt. Proud moment for India; all 8 beaches recommended by government gets coveted International #Blueflag Certification,” Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar added.
“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,” he further said.
This victory has made India, the first country in the whole of Asia-Pacific to have been honoured with this award in about two years’ time; and with this India enters the league of 50 Blue Flag countries.
Proud moment for ????????
8 of India's pristine beaches get the prestigious Blue Flag certification.
Govt. under the leadership of PM @NarendraModi ji is committed to furthering sustainable development in coastal regions. pic.twitter.com/6MTSnEPDC0
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) October 12, 2020
“Japan, South Korea and UAE are the only other Asian nations who have been conferred with a couple of Blue Flag beaches, however, in a time frame of about five to six years!” Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said in a statement.
“India has also been awarded the third prize by the International Jury under the ‘International Best Practices’ for pollution control in coastal regions,” it further informed.
The Ministry also revealed its plans of taking “this journey forward to 100 such beaches in the country in the next five years.”
Related: These Bioluminescent Beaches Around The World Will Give You New Travel Goals
