MAKE A BEACH MORE BEAUTIFUL NOW

Beaches are like babies.... they all start out beautiful. And then, their beauty, health, and character depends largely on the humans around them.  Many beautiful beaches around the world have been trashed, becoming cachepots for pollution and litter, their ecosystems damaged, and their beauty sullied.

Photo: Panoramas, Blue Flag designated Abu Dhabi Corniche Beach

We’ve surveyed the most successful beach sustainable development and clean-up efforts, where the beauty and joy is being celebrated and restored.

 

More than 3100 beaches and 625 marinas were recently awarded the world’s leading eco-label for the 2013 season by the Blue Flag International Jury.

 

Blue Flag began as “Pavillon Bleu,” an eco-label created by the French Office of the Foundation for Environmental Education in Europe in 1985. It went on to receive international status as the “Blue Flag,” as a means of raising awareness and encouraging local authorities and port managers to evaluate the impact of their activity on their local beach environments. It is a genuine decision-making tool.  

 

In the Mediterranean basin, several countries (Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Cyprus, Jordan, Tunisia and Morocco) have adopted the Blue Flag, conforming to several criteria relating to bathing water quality, information and education on the environment, environmental management and security. Among their goals is to boost awareness and develop sanitation initiatives to attract tourism in Mediterranean countries and to protect of the region’s coastline.  Portugal’s Algarve, for example, now boasts 69 Blue Flag beaches.

Photo: Courtesy of Blue Flag. Blue Flag designated Cefn Sidan Beach, Pembrey Country Park, Wales.

In 2013, IPEMED launched a study which aims to make recommendations to improve sanitation in the Mediterranean, promote environmental education, mobilize the tourist sector, and carry out joint action led by the national Blue Flag coordinators. The study will be published in the end of 2013.

 

The International Jury congratulated two new countries that fully implemented the Blue Flag programme in 2013, welcoming Israel (with 11 sites) and Mexico (with 5 sites) to the network.

Photo: Courtesy of Amstar. Blue Flag designated Chileno Beach, Los Cabos, Mexico

The full list of awarded sites can be found the international Blue Flag website where the users can also find detailed information about the services or facilities for disabled people.

 

The next meeting of the Blue Flag International Jury takes place on 10 September to award beaches and marinas from the Caribbean, South America, Africa and southwest Pacific.

 

The International Blue Flag Jury is composed of representatives from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), International Lifesaving Federation (ILS), the European Environment Agency (EEA), the European Union for Coastal Conservation (EUCC), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an Environmental Education expert, the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA) and FEE.
 

Photo: rodtuck. Pothcressa Beach St. Marys, Isle of Scilly

The United Kingdom’s Marine Conservation Society (MCS) aims to reclaim beaches, with cleanup efforts to restore Great Britain’s picturesque beaches to their full glory. Thousands of volunteers come together each year for the MCS Beachwatch Big Weekend every third weekend in September, to clean their local or favourite beach and record what they find on them as part of the International Coastal Clean-up, organised by Ocean Conservancy.

Photo: Courtesy of Coastwise North Devon. MCS cleanup at Croyde Beach, Devon, England

Beach litter has been consistently growing in volume over the two decades MCS has been measuring. Last year (2012), nearly 3,500 volunteers cleaned almost 240 beaches, covering a total of 90 kilometres. It is mind boggling to imagine the scale of this effort. Over 180,000 pieces of litter were collected, filling over 1,800 bags. For every kilometre surveyed, over 2,000 pieces of litter were found.

Marine wildlife is under threat from hazardous litter. Hundreds of species accidentally eat, or become entangled. The entire ecosystem in which they live is compromised. Of course, it’s not so nice for humans either.

 

In 2010 the Beachwatch data highlighted a rise in sewage related debris (SRD) found on UK beaches – things like condoms, diapers, and sanitary pads. Their report had an impact. Many British citizens, with a newfound awareness, kindly stopped flushing these things down their toilets and into the sea.  – which led to a drop in SRD the following year. In 2011, MCS reported a sharp rise in dog poo bags on beaches. This report convinced many UK dog owners to use rubbish bins instead.  

 

This year is the 20th anniversary of the September Beachwatch clean-ups, so MCS is stepping up their game to celebrate, with more volunteers and more beaches cleaned.
 

Photo: Heal the Bay. El Matador State Beach

 

A similar cleanup effort is promoted during the annual California Coastal Cleanup Day, also  organized by Ocean Conservancy, With more than 65,000 volunteers lending a hand, this is the largest volunteer event of its kind in the world, taking place every year in the third week of September. Last year, nearly 770,000 pounds of debris were removed from California's beaches, lakes, and waterways. Even the cleanest-looking beach can hide dangers under the sand. Nails, broken glass, hypodermic needles…even an unexploded grenade have been found during Coastal Cleanup Days. Over 1000 volunteers even brought their own buckets, reusable water bottles, gloves, bags, so that they could also lower the carbon footprint of the clean up event

Photo: Shayan. Coastal Cleanup Day at Lexington Reservoir

A lot can be accomplished in just one day. For example, in just three hours, at over 70 sites throughout Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, almost 17,000 pounds of debris were removed by over 3,000 volunteers, making beaches from Wadell to Big Sur more beautiful once again. Save Our Shores, a local organization, conducts monthly cleanups throughout the year here, which has had a marked impact in dealing with debris unleashed by the Japanese tsunami.

 

Coastal Cleanup Day is the highlight of the California Coastal Commission's year-round Adopt-A-Beach program and usually takes place every year on the third Saturday of September. Coming at the end of the summer beach season and right near the start of the school year, Coastal Cleanup Day is a great way for families, students, service groups, and neighbors to join together, show community support for our shared natural resources, learn about the impacts of marine debris, and to have fun. Coastal Cleanup Day is also the kick-off event for Coastweeks, a three-week program of coastal and water-related events for the whole family.

 

Photo: Courtesy of 2inspire247

 

This year, the Cleanup Day will be on Sept 21st. It’s a beautiful opportunity to care for the fragile marine environment, learn about shared natural resources, learn about the effects and impact of marine debris.

 

In these last few weeks of summer, consider a trip to a reclaimed restored beautiful beach. And consider helping out in September to help make an even bigger impact on our world’s most threatened coastlines.

 

Check out the rest of our posts on Beaches this week in Arts/Design, Food/Drink, Mind/Body, Place/Time, Nature/Science, and Soul Impact. And enter this week's photo competition starting tomorrow. The theme: Beach (Deadline, August 25th, 2013).