Besides being somewhere you want to spend your summer, basically, Blue Flag is a status of excellence awarded to beaches that meet a strict set of criteria. These range from its water quality, to how safe and clean the beach is, to the amenities provided at the beach.
The criteria is set by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), who are the international coordinators of the Blue Flag campaign in Europe. Blue Flag SA is managed by the Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa (WESSA) and other stakeholders under the Department of Environmental Affairs. After Europe, South Africa is the first country to win Blue Flag accreditation for its beaches.
We have 36 beaches that have been awarded Blue Flag status for the 2012-2013 season, while 13 received pilot status. The Western Cape currently boasts the most Blue Flag status beaches, with 23 Blue Flag beaches. These include Camps Bay, Llandudno, Muizenberg, Strandfontein, Clifton and Bikini beach. Kwazulu Natal has its own small entourage, with eight beaches including Southport, Trafalgar, Marina and Hibberdene. In the Eastern Cape, there are four Blue Flag beaches: Humewood, Dolphin, Kelly’s and Kariega beaches.
If you plan on hitting the beaches this summer, first you need to build a beach body. And in addition to knowing how to pick up women at the beach, you can now use your blue flag knowledge to impress them.
– via Blue Flag
