BLUE FLAG CAMPAIGN

BLUE FLAG NEWS

 BLUE FLAG MEDIA STATEMENT

National Marine Month in October 2009 came to an end on a high note when the new season of Blue Flag South Africa was launched at Muizenberg beach on Thursday 29 October 2009.   National Marine Month is aimed at creating awareness of South Africa’s marine and coastal environments and the benefits that our oceans and coast bring to our country.

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Opportunities presented by the upcoming 2010 Soccer World Cup have certainly spurred on many municipalities to introduce more beaches into the Blue Flag programme.    Although the deadline for applications is the end of June 2009, it is likely that the Blue Flag programme will experience significant growth for the upcoming 2009-10 season.   Many municipalities will implement an additional one-month Blue Flag season when our 2010 visitors are here –even though it will be the middle of winter, these Blue Flag beaches will have lifeguards, cleaners, security, and water quality monitoring in place to offer our visitors excellent beaches during their stay.

At the annual Blue Flag workshop held recently in Plettenberg Bay, municipalities discussed the implications of the new ICM legislation as well as risk issues relating to lifesaving.   It was quite sobering for the group to visit the area where Lookout beach (previously a Blue Flag beach) was previously.  Through floods and high seas, the beach and all its infrastructure (ablutions, pathways, etc) no longer exist.  Nature has taken back this stretch of coast!

The deadline for 2009-10 applications is the end of June 2009.  For more details, contact Alison Kelly at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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National Programme Evaluation [3MB]

SOUTH AFRICA FLIES THE BLUE FLAG!
A Blue Flag is an international award given to beaches that meet EXCELLENCE in the areas of safety, amenities, cleanliness and environmental standards. As South Africa enters it’s the eighth year of running Blue Flag, we can proudly say that our beaches are sustaining excellence in beach management and rate among the top beaches in the world.
South Africa is the first country outside Europe to win Blue Flag accreditation for its beaches.
For the 2008/9 season, 19 beaches were awarded Blue Flag status.   The number of beaches receiving Blue Flag accreditation has dropped this season as a result of some of the beaches not complying with the water quality standards that Blue Flag requires and as a result of the withdrawal from the Blue Flag programme by some municipalities.   One of the greatest challenges for South African Blue Flag beaches, is to meet the water quality requirements.  All Blue Flag beaches have their water tested every 2 weeks and the quality has to meet international standards.  

For further details contact:
National Blue Flag Program Manager
Alison Kelly
Tel: 033-3303931 ext 135 (Alison) and ext 132 (Sheivine).
PO Box 394, Howick 3290
Email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Current Blue Flag beaches in South Africa:- MacDougall's Bay, Port Nolloth (new), Yzerfontein Main Beach, Yzerfontein (new), Big Bay beach, Bloubergstrand Cape Town (new), Clifton 5th beach (Cape Town), Camps Bay (Cape Town), Muizenberg (Cape Town), Strandfontein beach (Cape Town), Mnandi beach (Cape Town), Bikini beach (Gordon's Bay), Kleinmond beach (near Hermanus), Hawston beach (near Hermanus), Grotto beach (Hermanus), Lappiesbaai (Stilbaai, Southern Cape), Santos beach (Mossel Bay), Hartenbos beach (Mossel Bay), Robberg 5 beach (Plettenberg Bay), Dolphin beach (Jeffrey's Bay), Humewood beach (Port Elizabeth), Hobie beach (Port Elizabeth), Wells Estate (north of Port Elizabeth), Kelly's beach (Port Alfred), Kariega Main beach (Kenton-on-Sea), Boknes beach (Kenton-on-Sea), Gonubie beach (East London), Trafalgar beach (South Coast KZN), Marina beach (South Coast KZN ), Ramsgate beach(near Margate), Margate beach, Alkantstrand (Richards Bay), Kariega, Boknes (Port Elfred)

(click here for MAP )

As South Africa enters its eighth season of Blue Flag, we can proudly say that our beaches are achieving excellence in beach management and rate among the top beaches in the world.

What does Blue Flag do for YOU?
The Blue Flag assures you that the beaches are clean, safe and environmentally friendly. The award also helps to educate the community about the need to care for our coastline. Blue Flag promotes one of South Africa's national treasures, our magnificent coast.
The Blue Flag campaign is proving highly successful and there has been a significant increase in response from local authorities wishing to implement the campaign. The number of beaches entering the campaign as pilot is indicative of the growing interest in Blue Flag in this country.

The pilot Blue Flag beaches that are working towards full Blue Flag accreditation for the next season, are:-
St Michaels, Lucien, Trafalgar, Umzumbe, Cannon Rocks, Pollock (Port Elizabeth).

How is the Blue Flag awarded?
The Blue Flag is awarded to beaches that comply with the Blue Flag criteria and there are four main areas:
•    water quality
•    environmental education & information
•    environmental management
•    safety and services.
In South Africa the Blue Flag season runs for a full year from 1/11 to 31/10 the next year for beaches from East London northwards. For other beaches, the length of the season varies from beach to beach:  some for 6 months and others on the cold West Coast, only running a 4 week season during the main summer holiday season.  
Blue Flag is managed by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) in partnership with the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) and participating local municipalities.  The Blue Flag campaign is one of several programmes run under the Coastcare project.
... more on the Blue Flag Campaign at www.blueflag.org