No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeEnvironment5 Pacific coast beaches declared Costa Rica’s cleanest

5 Pacific coast beaches declared Costa Rica’s cleanest

Five Pacific beaches were declared the cleanest in the country during this year’s Ecological Blue Flag (BAE) ceremony, held on Monday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in San José.

Three beaches – Playa Blanca in Puntarenas and Matapalo and Punta El Madero in Guanacaste – obtained the maximum of five stars in the certification program sponsored by the Water and Sewer Institute’s (AyA) National Water Laboratory.

Junquillal in Guanacaste and Manuel Antonio in Puntarenas received three stars during the event, which was hosted by Vice President Alfio Piva, Environment Minister René Castro, AyA President Yessenia Calderón and BAE program coordinator Darner Mora.

A total of 122 beaches submitted applications for the Blue Flag program, of which 107 received at least one star.

The BAE is a voluntary program that annually awards compliance with a series of requirements including water quality, safety conditions, general services and environmental protection.

Blue Flags are awarded in 10 categories: beaches, communities, schools, natural protected areas, watersheds, climate change, climate neutral community, community health, sustainable homes and special events. Awards in the other categories will be presented in coming weeks.

A total of 2,959 communities, organizations and companies submitted bids for the 2013 awards, as reported by the organizing committee.

AyA launched the BAE program in 1996, following Spain, which established the program in that country in 1986, awarding the first Blue Flag in 1987. Since then, more than 30 countries have adopted the Blue Flag program, including Panama, Guatemala and Perú.

Learn more about the Blue Flag program (in Spanish) here: www.banderaazulecologica.org

Trending Now

Costa Rica Condemns Global Inaction on Humanitarian Crises at UN

Costa Rica has issued a forceful appeal to the international community to respond more swiftly and collaboratively to humanitarian emergencies across the globe, citing...

Costa Rica Bill Targets Public Drinking with Fines and Jail Time

Lawmakers in Costa Rica have put forward a bill to crack down on drinking in public spaces, aiming to cut down on related disturbances...

Costa Rica Unveils $800M Electric Train for San José Metro Area

Costa Rica has rolled out plans for a new electric train system aimed at easing traffic snarls in the Greater Metropolitan Area. President Rodrigo...

Panama Ranches Adopt New Measures to Curb Jaguar Attacks

An increasing number of farms in Panama are taking steps to reduce jaguar attacks on livestock, showing that coexistence between people and these American...

5 Top Costa Rican Restaurants on TripAdvisor’s Best List

Costa Rica's restaurants have landed spots on TripAdvisor's global list of top dining spots this year. Five local places made the cut in the...

Tragic Blaze at Hotel Oriente Kills Five in Costa Rica Capital

A tragic fire ripped through the Hotel Oriente in central San Jose early this morning, leaving five people dead and sparking questions about building...
L. Arias
L. Arias
Reporter | The Tico Times |
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica