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It was with great pleasure that I accepted the invitation of the President and Members of the Zygios Community Council, the National Blue Flag Judge and the CYMEPA Organisation to attend and welcome the nationwide Blue Flag award ceremony.
The Blue Flag is an international institution that promotes environmental awareness. It is the most widely recognised and widespread ecological quality symbol in the world, which rewards organised coastlines and is awarded according to strict criteria. The award is given to beaches that achieve high quality environmental objectives. It is an institution that respects the values of life and culture and actively promotes the principles of ecology and sustainability.
A prerequisite for a beach to be awarded the "Blue Flag" is, among other things, the excellent quality of its bathing waters, but also compliance with 33 other criteria for beaches and 38 criteria for marinas, which certify the quality of their organisation, such as the safety of bathers, information for visitors, cleanliness and organisation of the coast and coastal area, protection of natural wealth and environmental awareness.
The annual assessment of bathing waters shows the degree of protection of public health and the environment, allowing citizens to make informed decisions about their options for enjoying the best bathing areas in Europe.
An important achievement for Cyprus is the fact that this year 76 beaches out of 123 bathing water areas, both marinas meet the criteria and as a result are awarded with a Blue Flag, which is very special and is another important distinction for Cyprus. CYMEPA is the initiator of this institution, as chairman of the National Jury, of which the Department of Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, among others, is an active member.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, through the Department of Environment, coordinates and has the general responsibility for the implementation of the Law on the Management of Bathing Water Quality in cooperation with the Health Services and the General State Laboratory, which are responsible for monitoring the quality of bathing waters. Cyprus submits at the end of the year an annual report to the European Commission in accordance with its obligations under the implementation of Directive 2006/7/EC on the management of bathing water quality.
We are proud of the fact that, according to the results of the latest European Commission Report for 2023, Cyprus is ranked first in Europe for the second consecutive year.
In particular, our country has complied with the most stringent requirements of the Bathing Water Quality Management Directive and has fulfilled all the obligations arising from it. More specifically, Cyprus has achieved a compliance rate of 97.6% with 120 out of 123 bathing water sites classified as excellent quality, while only three sites have not been classified, due to a limited number of samples.
We have managed in recent years to make significant progress in the list of countries where environmental protection is high on the list of priorities. And this success is important not only from an environmental point of view, but also for our tourism. The majority of tourists visit Cyprus for its sun and sea and this first place can be used to promote marine and coastal tourism. This is one of the main objectives of President Nicos Christodoulides' governing programme: upgrading the services offered in our country's coastal resorts and investing in marine and sustainable tourism. And this, dear ones, complements at the same time the efforts of our Government, both in terms of the protection of the Natura 2000 marine areas and marine biodiversity and with our actions and policies for the reduction of single-use plastics, waste management and Zero Waste.
For the visitor, a beach with a "Blue Flag" is a safe place for recreation, for the local government a "trophy" that proves its effective management. For us as Cypriot citizens, who grew up with the sea a few minutes away from our home, this flag is an integral part of our perception of our seas. And this is how we want our beaches in Cyprus to continue to be.
So today, we are here not only to honour our excellent beaches, but to reaffirm once again Cyprus' commitment to environmental protection towards achieving sustainability. It is yet another reason why the responsibility to maintain this high quality, taking care to prevent marine pollution from land and marine sources of pollution, rests on the shoulders of all of us.
In conclusion, I would like to address the Health and Public Health Services, the State Laboratory, CYMEPA, the members of the National Blue Flag Jury and the Local Authorities and thank them for their cooperation. Your contribution is crucial for the protection of our seas, which provides quality of life for our citizens and contributes to the economic development of our country.
I am sure that these efforts will continue and will be strengthened in order to preserve and protect this precious resource that we have, our sea.
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Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
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