Durban’s North Beach and uMhlanga Main Beach were among the KwaZulu-Natal beaches to be awarded Blue Flag Status (BFS) on Friday. Ushaka Beach, Point Beach and Amanzimtoti also received full Blue Flag Status while pilot status was awarded to South Beach Central, Umgababa, Umdloti Tidal, Westbrook, Ansteys and Brighton.
Cindy-Lee Cloete of the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) made the announcement during a ceremony at uShaka beach.
“This year has been significant as it marks the 20th anniversary of the Blue Flag Programme in South Africa which was the first country outside of Europe to implement the Blue Flag Programme in 2001, making it an international programme. Today beaches, marinas and tourism nodes are a key draw card for national and international tourism industries,” said Cloete at the event.
In 2001 five beaches were awarded BFS. This number climbed to 24 beaches in 2006 and in 2014 WESSA welcomed four marinas to the Blue Flag Programme, said Cloete.
“The Blue Flag Programme is one of the longest running national coastal conservation and tourism programmes in the country. The successful Blue Flag tourism projects, in partnership with the National Department of Tourism proves the incredible power that long term projects like these have, not just to the benefit of the environment but also to the development of aspiring young environmentalists and tour guides, 300 of which have already been trained and passed through our Blue Flag Stewardship projects,” added Cloete.
Speaking at the event, eThekwini Mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda said the Blue Flag Programme plays a critical role in raising awareness about marine conservation.
“It also increases consciousness among our tourists and residents about environmental management. We would like to thank the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa for coming up with this initiative. Since its inception, 33 years ago the programme has been instrumental in helping our coastal cities to manage their beaches better. In the 2018/2019 financial year the Western Cape achieved the highest number of Blue Flag sites. This time around, eThekwini has worked extremely hard and we are ready to receive more Blue Flag awards,” he said.
