Every year, With the awarding of blue flags by the private organization that promotes them, expectations as well as discussions arise.. This year, Spain has 729, including beaches and marinas. On the one hand, these badges are coveted by many Spanish tourist destinations for being able to serve as a guarantee of quality for beaches, coves and other swimming areas. But also, more and more voices are emerging questioning both their true benefits and the criteria by which they are rewarded.. Are blue flags really good for anything? Do they fit the objective parameters?
in the summer of 2021 scientific research Titled ‘The spatio-temporal evolution of blue flag beaches in the Balearic Islands (1987-2018), implications for their improvement and morphological recovery’ by geographers and geologists from the Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB) and Girona Universitat. The result was “blue flags have in no way served to ameliorate, restore or reverse the deterioration caused by frequent visits to coastal areas”.
The work of Francesc Xavier Roig, Josep Pintó, José Àngel Martín Prieto and Antonio Rodríguez Perea analyzed 20 beaches on the islands featured with the Blue Flag, confirming that the award alone “does not contribute to the geomorphological development of the system beach”. -sand hill”.
“There are no developments related to the Blue Flag on the analyzed beaches. Then, the usefulness of this label should be reassessed or new environmental accreditation criteria should be introduced. adapting to the complexity and characteristics of beaches, without thinking of them as simple solariums,” add the study’s scientific authors.
Where do blue flags come from? It is an award that was first awarded in 1985 by a private foundation in France. and with the acceptance it gained, the idea quickly spread, first in Europe and then to other countries of the world. However, voices questioning the criteria used from the very first years arose. Flags are currently awarded in Spain by the Environment and Consumer Education Association (ADEAC) and the Environmental Education Foundation.
The main objection is that “a beach can only receive a blue flag if it is full of services and infrastructure, that is, if it is urbanized. It would be difficult for a natural and completely untouched beach to have this privilege, even though what the issuing organization advocates is environmental protection. This is a complete contradiction”, a few summers ago the mayor of a tourist town gave up trying to win this award.
“There is no positive contribution in terms of geoenvironment”
What’s more, they can even be inefficient. The authors of the scientific study, from the University of Girona and the University of the Balearic Islands, “support the high levels of participation associated with the provision of services, including recreational services. Does not make any positive contribution in terms of geoenvironment does not prioritize knowing the natural conditions of the beaches.. Many municipalities have already decided to abandon blue flags and opt for other numbers such as EMAS or ISO certifications”.
The mayors of Catalonia, as well as tourism officials from the Balearic Islands, openly criticized the initiative: “They do not cease to be an advertising brand and in no case are they a quality brand”Begur mayor, Joan Manuel Loureiro, made a statement on the Costa Brava in the summer of 2017. He also added that “inspections on these beaches are almost nonexistent.”
Biel Barceló, former vice-president of the Balearic Government, pointed out that “blue flags are one thing, the quality of the beaches is another”, emphasizing another aspect: “There is no point in paying a company for anything. [los controles] which has already been done”. Barceló, the company responsible for blue flags He asked the government to “a canon of 21,000 euros, which the government considers not a priority”.
The issuing organization defends the initiative
Ana Pérez-Montero, director of the Blue Flag in Spain, points out: “The Blue Flag is funded through contracts, agreements and subsidies from various ministries in the Autonomous Communities. Any fee of Andalusia, Asturias, Canary Islands, Catalonia, Valencian Community, Galicia, Extremadura and Murcia in addition to Diputación de Álava and the Autonomous Cities of Ceuta and Melilla. In the Balearic Islands and Cantabria, town halls and marinas pay a participation fee of around 450 euros per candidate”. He adds that with these amounts, the costs of materials, personnel, activities and consultancy distributed by the organization are covered.
Pérez-Montero points out that not every beach gets this award: “The first requirement for the Blue Flag is that the quality of the bathing waters is excellent., according to the samples made during the swimming season. There are 29 criteria divided into four categories: water quality, environmental information and education, environmental management of the beach including compliance with Beach Law, waste management, presence of bathrooms on beaches, safety including adequate human resources. and life-saving supplies and services for people with disabilities at every beach”.
However, the person in charge of the business agrees that: a pristine beach that has always been fully preserved cannot aspire to these flags., because minimal infrastructure is required: “One of the Blue Flag criteria stipulates that beaches must be easily accessible, so if a pristine beach is reached with dangerous access, it cannot be awarded a Blue Flag. In terms of infrastructure, the Blue Flag requires the presence of public toilets that can be found in the parking lot, not necessarily on the sand. A lifeguard station and one or more lookout points are required, which may be in the parking lot. Depending on the size of the beach, which can be moved and removed every day. “The Blue Flag does not require a shower, hammock or any other infrastructure,” he said.
Concerning the controversy that the badge award criteria occasionally raises, the organization defends the system used and denies that the criteria in question have changed. “What they need is continuous improvement, and some are implemented gradually, with deadlines and commitments mechanisms. The jury may award a blue flag to a beach in minor violation of the Coastal Code if the council agrees to resolve this violation. for next year”.
Although it was an initiative aimed at rewarding environmental quality, it wasn’t until this edition inBlue Flag in Spain incorporates criteria for coastal defense. For this pressure, coastal municipalities should identify habitats of community interest in order of priority for dune regeneration or the presence of Posidonia or other protected marine phanerogamous species. In addition, they should start the project to build fences on the dune areas, if they do not have fences, they should identify the infrastructures that may be on the dune areas and initiate the necessary actions to remove them. “The Blue Flag for next summer will ensure that all priority habitats for dune regeneration will improve their conservation status through the gradual implementation of this criterion,” said Ana Pérez-Montero.
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Contact address of the environment department: [email protected]