Blue Flag Research Articles

Environment Education Activities in Shivrajpur Blue Flag Beach of India

Environment Education Activities in Shivrajpur Blue Flag Beach of India

Ornamental Plant and Weed Response to Oxyfluorfen Plus Prodiamine

Ornamental plant and weed response to oxyfluorfen + prodiamine herbicide was evaluated in Connecticut and Tennessee, USA, in 2017 and 2018. Preemergence application of oxyfluorfen + prodiamine was made at 0 lb/acre, 2 + 0.75 lb/acre, 4 + 1.5 lb/acre, and 8 + 3 lb/acre to container-grown ornamental plants on an outdoor gravel pad and weeds in greenhouse experiments. Ornamental plants were treated first within a week after transplanting and again 6 weeks after the first treatment. Asiatic jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum), candlestick plant (Senna alata), and English ivy (Hedera helix) in Tennessee, USA; and ‘Blue Flag’ iris (Iris sp.), ‘Firecracker’ gladiolus (Gladiolus sp.), and ‘Green Carpet’ Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis) in Connecticut, USA, were not injured with oxyfluorfen + prodiamine regardless of rate applied. Lily-of-the-Nile (Agapanthus africanus) in Tennessee, USA, and ‘Bowles’ periwinkle (Vinca minor) in Connecticut, USA, showed minor but commercially acceptable growth reduction with oxyfluorfen + prodiamine up to 4 + 1.5 lb/acre. Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum ×superbum) in Connecticut, USA, was the most sensitive ornamental plant. After the first application, average necrotic injury to Shasta daisy varied from 24% with 2 + 0.75 lb/acre to 31% with 8 + 3 lb/acre of oxyfluorfen + prodiamine. After the second application, necrotic injury was ≤ 5% with all oxyfluorfen + prodiamine rates tested and was commercially acceptable (≤ 20%). Oxyfluorfen + prodiamine reduced densities of creeping woodsorrel (Oxalis corniculata), hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta), giant foxtail (Setaria faberi), and large crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis) ≥ 80% by 4 weeks after treatment. The fresh weed biomass 6 weeks after treatment indicated an 88% to 99% reduction compared with the untreated control.

Determining anthropogenic pressure on the Southern Black Sea blue flag beaches

Coasts are settlement areas that attract human for many years. Türkiye, geographically located on Mediterranean Basin and Asian Continent passage with unique climate regime, has a great coastal zone. The mid-latitude geographic setting makes possible to experience coastal recreation and tourism activities for almost all year along. Among all activities sun, sea and sand tourism can be placed on the first stage. Recent changes in local climate of the Black Sea such as rising mean atmospheric temperatures and increasing number of sunny days have triggered touristic beach activities in the region. In the literature, there are different techniques for grading and classifying coastal beaches. In this study, as an integral part of coastal landscape formation Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) structure is linked to landscape value and regarded as cover changes that determines landscape pattern of the area under investigation. The research rationale of this study is based on an assumption of Southern Black Sea coastal blue flag beaches are under severe anthropogenic pressure. For this purpose, 15 blue flag beaches which are located on the Black Sea coast of Türkiye were selected based on their morphological dimensions. To determine landscape changes and potential human induced effects on selected beaches for the last 35–40 years period, georeferenced, atmospherically corrected Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI-TIRS satellite images were used. Furthermore, carrying capacities for all researched beaches were calculated and documented in order to find the actual human usage frequencies during the high season. According to results of the study, it is clearly observed that all beach areas are under anthropogenic pressure. The most important evidence of this situation is the proportional increases in the IS (Impervious Surface) cover class in the classified images between 1984 and 1985 and 2021 in all 15 beaches. Moreover, these increases have reached up to 5–6 times for some beaches. As inferred, from the field surveys, beach carrying capacities were also exceeded for the most of the beaches under investigation. This means the blue flag beaches of Southern Black Sea are not only affected by construction and urbanization but also under intense pressure of overuse during the high seasons. It is revealed that these areas should be carefully managed with state-of-the-art techniques that prioritize adaptive planning that takes into account all stakeholders participation. Moreover, the activities, authorization and attitudes of municipalities regarding the coastal zones must be limited and inspected by a higher organization.

Sustainable Coastal-Based Tourism in Southern Sri Lanka: Assessing the Potentials of Blue Flag Certification’s Criteria

As an Island nation, Sri Lanka depends on coastal ecosystems to develop its economy by enhancing coastal-based tourism activities. Sri Lanka’s beaches are an essential part of coastal tourism as they attract many local and foreign tourists. With the ever-increasing demand for coastal tourism-based development, the beaches in Sri Lanka are susceptible to environmental degradation and pollution. The Blue Flag Certification (BFC), recognized globally for its stringent environmental standards, serves as a potential framework for promoting coastal tourism while ensuring the conservation of coastal ecosystems. The BFC requires any beach to achieve and sustain high standards in 33 criteria under the four categories: Environmental Education and Information, Water Quality, Environmental Management, and Safety and Services. Although many attractive beaches in the southern part of Sri Lanka usually receive a larger proportion of tourists annually, Sri Lanka has not obtained BFC for any of its beaches so far. Therefore, through a comprehensive assessment, including field surveys and analysis of the applicability of blue flag criteria, this study aims to gauge the feasibility and effectiveness of integrating BFC into the development of sustainable coastal-based tourism. Three beaches located in the Southern Province, namely Unawatuna, Mirissa, and Polhena were selected for this study. Observations and data gathered during the field investigations were analyzed for 30 criteria (excluding water quality criteria) using the guidelines and explanatory notes provided by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). It was identified that Unawatuna has fully or partially achieved 13 criteria out of 30, while Mirissa and Polhena achieved only ninth and seventh criteria respectively. All three beaches have achieved most of the criteria under the environmental management category while lacking significant achievements in the safety and services category. However, all three beaches have achieved at least one criterion under the environmental education and information category. Enhanced cleanliness and aesthetic values of beaches were observed where the environmental management criteria were prioritized especially in Mirissa. This study ensures that accomplishing all BFC criteria helps to enhance the region’s coastal tourism potential while continuing to preserve its unique and pristine coastal ecosystems. Further, this research also provides valuable insights and a holistic approach for policymakers, local councils, and tourism development stakeholders to implement the necessary strategies to fulfil all the criteria. Therefore, this study recommends a steady and efficient incorporation of all the criteria by relevant authorities to promote sustainable tourism and therefore contribute to economic development.
 
 Keywords: Sustainable tourism, Environmental management, Blue flag, Water quality, Development

Evaluation of tourist carrying capacity to support recreational beaches management

The overexploitation of sandy beaches by tourism reduces ecological integrity, rendering natural conditions unsatisfactory for the needs of the population and resulting in negative socio-economic impacts. In this context, the assessment of tourist carrying capacity aims to support beach management from a social, environmental, and economic perspective. The objective of this study was to estimate the tourist carrying capacity at nine beaches in the states of Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and Espírito Santo (ES), southeastern Brazil. The physical carrying capacity was calculated based on the available space for recreation in scenarios of one user per 5 m2 and 10 m2. Subsequently, limiting environmental factors for recreational use such as sunlight, precipitation, strong winds, tidal range, and temperature were considered, supporting the calculation of the tourist carrying capacity. For the calculation, management conditions (infrastructure and services) were estimated based on the scoring of 69 indicators, included in the international beach quality program called Blue Flag and in the main instrument for coastal management in Brazil, the Orla Project. At RJ beaches, the carrying capacity was not exceeded in the scenario of one user per 10 m2, except in the central region with a higher tourist appeal. In ES state, the results indicated overload for all beaches in the central southern region; for example, one received six times more users than its tourist capacity. Overall, the highest percentages of management capacity were recorded at beaches with Blue Flag certification. The beaches that require the most improvements in coastal management are those located in regions with lower Human Development Index (HDI) and farther from major urban centers. The results suggest priority management actions and guide efforts towards potential beach certification. The management of services, infrastructure, and overload highlights the need for preventive measures to avoid the tourism paradox, including loss of environmental quality and revenue. Moreover, the flexibility of this evaluation tool allows for its application in beaches of any country. The integration of tourist carrying capacity and assessment of the coastal scenario provides a more comprehensive and effective framework for the sustainable management of beaches.

Водні об’єкти України: якість води та рекреація

The purpose of this study is to generalize approaches to water quality assessment of water bodies of Ukraine from the point of view of their recreational use. The use of the water area and coast of water bodies for recreational purposes, including swimming, rest, relaxation, physical exercise and aesthetic pleasure, has significant benefits for the restoration of human health. Considerable attention is paid to the study of this issue and the implementation of practical measures in the world. Thus, in the European Union there is a directive 2006/7/EC on the management of the quality of bathing water (2006), in the USA the law on the assessment of the condition of beaches and the protection of coastal areas was adopted (2000). The World Health Organization (WHO) under the UN periodically issues recommendations on the quality of recreational water. One of the important infrastructural factors, on which the water quality of a water body used for recreational purposes depends to a certain extent, is compliance with the relevant requirements for the arrangement of beaches. Monitoring by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine on the sea beaches of Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya and Donetsk regions (49 beaches) during May–August 2021 showed compliance with water quality standards: according to microbiological indicators – by 85.5–99.1%; according to chemical indicators - by 84.9–100%. The FEO International Jury awards beaches with an environmental certificate provided they meet the criteria of the Blue Flag program. In Ukraine, which joined the program in 2010, 19 beaches were awarded the Blue Flag certificate in 2021. Unfortunately, due to the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation, which began on February 24, 2022, a certain part of the territory in the east and southeast of Ukraine is currently temporarily occupied, the water infrastructure is being destroyed, which will have to be restored after the end of the war.

Comparing Vegetation and Substrate Performances on Nutrient Removal and Biomass Establishment Using a Natural Swimming Pool Experiment

Natural swimming pools (NSPs) rely on the interaction of bog vegetation, bacteria, and substrate to maintain water quality. Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) levels in NSPs are critical because of their involvement in eutrophication. We conducted a 15-week greenhouse study to address the significant literature gap regarding nutrient removal capabilities of substrates and vegetation in the low-nutrient environment of NSPs. We used mass balance analyses to compare the performances of four substrates [river gravel (control), recycled glass, expanded clay, expanded shale] and two plant species [blue flag iris (Iris versicolor) and lizard’s tail (Saururus cernuus)] under two flow conditions: free water surface and subsurface flow. At the end of the experiment, except for the recycled glass group, all other substrate groups reduced water nitrate (NO3) levels to less than 30 mg⋅L−1, the standard of the 2011 Forschungsgesellschaft Landschaftsentwicklung Landschaftsbau (FLL) guidelines. However, only the expanded clay group closely approached the P standard (≤0.01 mg⋅L−1). Expanded clay and expanded shale demonstrated potential as substrates for NSP bogs. The final aboveground biomass dry weight was strongly negatively correlated with the final NO3 and P water concentrations. However, direct plant uptake proved insufficient to remove all nutrient inputs, especially for P. Except for the recycled glass group (34%), a significant portion of N (79%–90%) from total N added was removed by aboveground biomass. However, P uptake by biomass was substantially lower (18%–37%). With acceptable vigor and biomass accumulation, blue flag iris may be a suitable species for vegetated NSPs, whereas lizard’s tail is not because of uncertain establishment. Compared with controlling N, managing P for FLL standards in NSPs will be more challenging. Our work begins to fill the essential gap in the NSP literature regarding nutrient removal capabilities of substrates and vegetation. Future work should continue to study alternative substrates and plant species for P removal, particularly in field conditions and over longer periods.

The Blue Flag Award in South Africa: Raising Consciences and Influencing Beach Goers’ Decisions

In recent years, the tourism sector has experienced significant expansion, with the beach ecosystem emerging as the most popular destination for recreational and leisure pursuits. The proliferation of marine tourism activities has resulted in undeniable ecological consequences, including but not limited to the generation of solid waste, noise and air pollution, unattractive landscapes, and degradation of the coastal biome. The Blue Flag certification has been widely embraced by several coastal municipalities as a means of addressing the adverse environmental consequences that arise from tourism and recreational activities. The objective of this research is to evaluate the perceptions and level of awareness of beach visitors regarding the Blue Flag award, as well as determine if their selection of a beach destination is influenced by the Blue Flag standards. The study employed a quantitative methodology and gathered data, using convenience sampling, from beach visitors at nine Blue Flag beaches located in KwaZulu-Natal. The data were collected through a structured, self-administered questionnaire. The findings suggest that there is a dearth of awareness among beach visitors regarding the Blue Flag certification and that certain criteria associated with the award have an impact on their selection of beaches. The study is expected to yield significant advantages in enhancing and strengthening the Blue Flag certification program within the country at large. Additionally, it will promote the necessity of public environmental education and awareness regarding the award.

SocioCoast: Design and Implementation of a Data-Driven Platform for Citizen Science in Coastal Areas

Due to the rapid urbanization and globalization that has occurred in recent decades, cities have undergone significant changes and transformations. The smart city concept can lead to improvements in the life quality of citizens and contribute to the city’s sustainability by collecting humans’ real-time observations. More specifically in smart coastal areas, citizen’s science data can be utilized not only to increase the effectiveness of its services like smart tourism and smart transit but also to raise awareness about environmental issues. Emphasizing on coastal areas under the Blue Flag program and the Natura 2000 network, in this work, we introduce a system that aims to collect crowdsourcing data from citizens and tourists and combine or compare them with existing knowledge for these areas. We describe the design and implementation: the back-end, its data sources and also the front-end outputs, a web knowledge platform, and a crowdsourcing mobile application. Geospatial information as well as historical or real-time data collected will be provided to users for further exploitation and creation of their own applications. A demonstration of the system is also provided to showcase its usefulness in increasing attractiveness and raising awareness for coastal areas by offering users rich and updated information.

Evaluating a novel patient pathway to manage symptomatic breast referrals (the blue flag clinic): a longitudinal observational study.

A novel referral pathway for exhibited breast symptom (EBS) referrals to manage increasing referrals of urgent suspected cancer (USC) was implemented in our trust. We report on the safety and effect on compliance with the 2-week-wait rule (2WW). A single-centre longitudinal observational study included all patients referred to a UK breast unit during 13 May 2019 to 27 March 2020 (period 1) and 8 February 2021 to 31 January 2022 (period 2). USC referrals were assessed in a one-stop clinic (red flag clinic [RFC]); EBS referrals were assessed in a new clinic in which clinical evaluation was performed and imaging occurred subsequently (blue flag clinic [BFC]). Patients were followed up to determine the symptomatic interval cancer rate. There were 9,695 referrals; 1,655 referrals (17%) were assessed in the BFC after 63 exclusions. Some 95.9% of patients had a benign clinical examination (P1/P2), 80.1% had imaging (mammogram or ultrasound) and 4% had a tissue biopsy. In total, 16/1,655 (0.97%) BFC patients and 510/7,977 (8.2%) RFC patients were diagnosed with breast cancer (breast cancer detection rate). Some 1,631 patients (with 1,639 referrals) were discharged and followed up for a median of 17 months (interquartile range 12-32) with one subsequent cancer diagnosis (symptomatic interval cancer rate, 0.06%). Implementation of the BFC pathway increased 3-month average trust performance of USC referrals with 2WW standard from 8.5% to 98.7% (period 1) and from 30% to 66% (period 2). The BFC pathway for EBS patients is safe and implementation led to improvement against the 2WW target for USC referrals, ensuring resources are prioritised to patients with the highest likelihood of breast cancer.

Evaluating the blue flag clinic - A novel patient pathway to manage symptomatic breast referrals

Evaluating the blue flag clinic - A novel patient pathway to manage symptomatic breast referrals

Do Blue Flag promotions influence tourists’ willingness to pay a price premium for coastal destinations?

The Blue Flag is a popular eco-label in tourism. This study aims at examining the effectiveness of Blue Flag promotion on tourists' willingness to pay a price premium to coastal destinations via two online experiments. Study 1 shows (n = 152) that the Blue Flag stimulates higher willingness to pay a price premium for coastal destinations directly as well as indirectly through self-congruity and destination brand identification. Study 2 (n = 160) used a new sample to enhance external validity and generalizability of the Study 1 findings. Study 2 shows that destination brand quality and destination brand identification serially mediate the effect of Blue Flag promotions on the tourist's willingness to pay a price premium. The findings suggest that destination managers should deploy the Blue Flag Logo in destination promotions to enhance self-congruence, destination brand identification, perceived destination quality, and the tourist's willingness to pay a price premium.

Rallying Around the Flags

This paper deals with four of the most popular songs from the American Civil War: “Dixie’s Land,” “The Bonnie Blue Flag,” “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and “The Battle Cry of Freedom.” The Civil War was a time in American history when propaganda was produced at a high rate, with these four songs being some of the most enduring examples. By looking at the history of these songs, as well as the content of the lyrics, insights into the mindsets of both the North and the South can be gleaned. In particular, by looking at the covers of the songs, it is possible to understand more about the creators of these parodies. By the end of this paper, differences in mindset between the North and the South will become apparent.

Climate change threatens beach tourism

Climate change threatens beach tourism Beaches evoke an emotion known to improve physical and mental well-being and have become a primary destination for leisure, relaxation and recreation, notes Researcher David Cabana from the Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS). However, he highlights, coastal and beach tourism goes beyond mere sunbathing and relaxation – it is quickly becoming an increasing concern for extreme climate change and erosion through rising seawater levels. Looking at the climate change threats to beaches and tourism-related activities, the Climate Services Center Germany (GERICS) in cooperation with the Blue Flag programme of the Foundation for Environmental Education aims to co-develop climate services and indicators to enable the application of climate change information into beach management and decision-making. The goal of the GERICS - Blue Flag programme collaboration is to enable the incorporation of usable and useful climate change information into municipal coastal decision-making such as in the Blue Flag assessment criteria to ensure that operators are prepared to adapt to climatic changes. This will also support the Blue Flag programme continues to recognize and award beaches and marinas that are not only environmentally sound but also resilient in the face of climate change.

Role of the community in the granting of blue flag certification at Tombo beach (Guarujá, Brazil)

In 2009, Tombo Beach in Guarujá (Brazil) received Blue Flag Certification, an ecological seal granted to beaches that meet environmental conservation requirements. Tombo Beach’s certification was the third in the program’s history in Brazil. Started in 1987, the Blue Flag Program is one of the most critical ecological seals created for the sustainable development of beaches and marinas that adopt careful water quality treatment, environmental education and information, environmental management, security, and other services. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of the requirements above by visitors to Tombo Beach to determine their participation in maintaining certification. To this end, structured questionnaires were used in interviews carried out in April in Tombo Beach, resulting in 300 interviews. Analysis of the data obtained through interviews (n=300) indicated restricted knowledge on the part of attendees regarding the requirements set out in the Blue Flag Program, demonstrating critical deficiencies, especially about environmental education programs. Furthermore, we sought to discuss the benefits of certification in increasing the attraction of visitors to disseminate the culture of accreditation on Brazilian beaches.

Blue flag clinics – a Quality Improvement project to reduce referral pressure on breast surgery 2 week wait service

Introduction: The breast cancer urgent suspected cancer referral pathway is under unprecedented pressures. A Quality Improvement project implemented a new triaging criterion of 2 pathways; red flag (suspected breast cancer referral; same day triple assessment within 2 weeks) and blue flag (symptomatic breast referral; clinical assessment within 2 weeks and uncoupled imaging if required). This evaluation assesses whether the blue flag clinic reduces imaging and its safety.

Delayed Effects of Nutrients in the Larval Environment on Cope's Gray Treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis) Exposed to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

Excess nutrient runoff can profoundly alter aquatic habitats and has been associated with changes in host–pathogen interactions. Floating macrophyte mats have been suggested as a management strategy to improve water quality for aquatic communities and, thus, may have the potential to protect hosts from some disease outbreaks. We assessed the impact of ammonium nitrate and sodium phosphate addition in the presence or absence of floating macrophyte mats (blue flag iris [Iris versicolor] and ice dance sedge [Carex morrowii]) on Cope's Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis) metamorphosis to examine whether macrophyte management treatments improve outcomes for amphibians. At metamorphosis, we infected individuals with the amphibian chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), to assess whether larval treatments resulted in differential susceptibility to this pathogen. We found that nutrient addition significantly increased time to metamorphosis without affecting mass at metamorphosis or survival. Additionally, Bd exposure decreased mass of juvenile treefrogs, regardless of earlier larval environment or condition at metamorphosis. Macrophyte addition had no direct impact on larval anurans, but the aquatic community was altered via fluctuations in aquatic nutrient concentrations. Overall, our study suggests that nutrient exposure and Bd infection individually affect anurans, and larval exposure to nutrients may have latent effects on metamorphosed anurans that could affect future fitness.

Environmental Perceptions of Tourists at Blue Flag-certified Beaches in Acapulco, Mexico

There is limited literature on the environmental perception of tourists at Blue Flag-certified beaches in Mexico. The objective of this research was to know the environmental perception of tourists at Icacos I and Icacos II beaches in Acapulco, Mexico, with Blue Flag certification. Quantitative research was carried out; the criteria "environmental education and information" and "environmental management" criteria were examined with a semistructured survey of 57 questions applied to 316 beach users, during the summer of 2019. According to the perception of tourists, an ideal beach should have clean water and sand; however, in the beaches studied, there is solid waste on the beach and in the sea, in addition to noise pollution and sewage, even with certification. It was found that there is not enough signage or environmental activity for users. In terms of management, visitors do not have information about Blue Flag; they do not observe the relevant signage, nor have they previously visited a beach with this emblem. In order to promote Acapulco as a sustainable destination, it is necessary to comply with the regulations and involve the local government, businessmen, service, and tourists; it is also necessary to develop environmental education processes.

The Impact of The Blue Flag Program to Protect Beaches on The Behavior of Tourists at the Destination

The Impact of The Blue Flag Program to Protect Beaches on The Behavior of Tourists at the Destination

Eco-Labels in the Context of Responsible Tourism: The Case of Blue Flag

Eco-Labels in the Context of Responsible Tourism: The Case of Blue Flag