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26 Guanacaste Beaches
Earn Ecological Blue Flag Distinction
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26 Guanacaste Beaches Earn Ecological Blue
Flag Distinction
(InfoWebPress) – A total of 26 beaches in
Guanacaste province earned this year the
Ecological Blue Flag environmental quality
distinction — including Punta del Madero,
which obtained the highest possible rating
of four stars.
Additionally, two Guanacaste beaches lost
their flags this time around: Hermosa and
Coco Norte, in Carrillo. On the upside, four
beaches reclaimed the distinction:
Manzanillo, Arenilla, Ocotal and Pelada.
The Ecological Blue Flag Program was
established to promote the organization of
local committees on coastal areas,
communities, schools, protected natural
spaces and other tourism and environmental
niches, whose goal is to promote
conservation and environmentally sound
development on the country’s beaches so that
their water-quality and sanitary conditions
are improved for the benefit of public
health.
The program is led and managed by a national
commission that initially included
representatives of the Costa Rican Tourism
Institute (ICT), the Ministry of the
Environment and Energy (MINAE), the National
Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR), the Ministry
of Health, and the Costa Rican Water and
Sewer Institute (AyA). Later on, in 2004,
when schools were added to the program, the
Ministry of Education joined the initiative.
In 2006, the National Emergency Commission (CNE)
and the Costa Rican Private Natural Reserve
Network were incorporated as well, with the
National Power and Light Company (CNFL) also
joining as collaborator.
The national commission’s role is to
coordinate the actions conducted by the
program’s technical team, establish annual
priorities, evaluate and select winners of
the yearly awards in various categories, and
set the future agenda of the Blue Flag
initiative.
Among some of the changes proposed in a
recent strategic plan, the commission
decided to include an inland community
category for the initiative. This followed
the establishment in 2004 of a school
category, whose goal is to encourage Blue
Flag principles of cleanliness and
preservation among students and teachers, so
that the program can be made sustainable for
future generations.
The 2007-2012 strategic plan called for the
creation of a fourth category to include
protected natural reserves. The possibility
of creating new categories in the future was
opened up as well. The plan also fomented
the establishment of an agreement with the
Environmental Education Foundation (FEE)
with the objective of certifying beaches and
marine areas at the international level.
These are the Guanacaste beaches that
currently fly an Ecological Blue Flag:
- Junquillal
- Monte del Barco
- Arenilla
- Panama
- Punta del Madero
- Buena
- Guacamaya
- Ocotal
- Zapotal
- Pan de Azucar
- Flamingo
- Conchal
- Ventanas
- Grande
- Langosta
- Avellanas
- Bonita
- Mansita
- Junquillal de Santa Cruz
- Ostional
- Pelada
- Guiones
- Samara
- Carillo
- Camaronal
- Punta Islita
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