The 2021 Blue Flag awards have been announced; TURKEY IS ONCE AGAIN 3RD IN THE WORLD!

The 2021 Blue Flag awards have been announced

TURKEY INCREASED ITS NUMBER OF BLUE FLAG BEACHES, TURKEY IS ONCE AGAIN 3RD IN THE WORLD!

The International Blue Flag Jury has announced the 2021 Blue Flag awards. This year, the Blue Flag will fly over 519 beaches, 22 marinas, 6 individual yachts and 10 tourism vessels in Turkey.

In our country, the Blue Flag Program is carried out under the coordination of the Turkish Foundation for Environmental Education (TÜRÇEV), on whose Board of Directors our Association is also represented, while internationally it is implemented in 49 countries worldwide under the coordination of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE).

The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, announced that in 2021 it would release the ranking of the top five countries among all those implementing the Blue Flag Program, along with the number of beaches and marinas awarded, on 25 May. According to this, Turkey once again ranked 3rd in the World in terms of the number of beaches. Spain ranks first and Greece ranks second. Behind Turkey, Italy ranks 4th, followed by France in 5th place.

The Blue Flag Program was launched when the European Union declared 1987 the Year of the Environment, and its starting point was to protect public health and to raise awareness of this through environmental education. In our country, it began to be implemented in 1993.

Blue Flag beaches must meet 33 important criteria. Some of the mandatory criteria include conducting seawater analyses at 15-day intervals during the season, the adequacy of wastewater treatment facilities, the protection of sensitive natural areas, the availability of lifeguard and first-aid equipment, an emergency plan, accessibility for people with disabilities, waste separation, and environmental education and information.

The 2021 list of Blue Flag award-winning beaches, marinas, individual yachts and tourism vessels can be found at www.mavibayrak.org.tr.