‘Blue Flag’ tag

• The Chandrabhaga beach on the Konark coast of Odisha will be the first in Asia to get the Blue Flag certification — the tag given to environment-friendly and clean beaches, equipped with amenities of international standards for tourists.

About Blue flag project:

• The standards were established by the Copenhagen-based Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) in 1985. And in India, the Environment Ministry embarked on the Blue Flag project in December 2017.
• According to the Blue Flag standards, a beach must strictly comply with 33 environment and tourist-related conditions. The initiative began in Paris, and quickly spread through Europe, and even to South Africa.
• 13 beaches across India, have been chosen for this Blue Flag certification, and the Chandrabhaga beach, on Odisha’s coast, was incidentally the first to complete the tag certification process.
• The Blue Flag certification is an attempt to promote sustainable tourism.
• The Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICoM) is facilitating the blue flag certification process by way of developing required infrastructure on the beaches. An integrated coastal management scheme, referred as Beach Management Service (BeaMS) has also been introduced to reduce existing pollutants on beaches and achieve such high international standards.
• In order to maintain the standard, facilities like container based bio-toilet blocks, container based changing rooms and shower panels in bamboo houses, grey water treatment plant for conservation of water, renewable energy through off grid mini solar power plant and purified drinking water facility free of cost will be set up at Chandrabhaga, which has the best water quality in the country.
• Similarly, stainless steel litter bins, seating benches, solid waste management through composting unit and mechanical raking of sand, sit-out umbrella thatch with recliner chairs, LED street lights in beach area, outdoor fitness equipment for recreational activities, amphibian wheel chair for disabled tourists and pathways/jogging track for recreational activities will also be developed.

By: Vishal