The Blue Flag has been raised for the fifth time on a beach in the Capital — and this time, the ladies beach at Al Bateen.
A programme by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the Blue Flag is awarded to beaches and marinas that met the strict criteria of water quality, environmental management, and environmental education and safety.
Since it started in 1987, the Blue Flag has been raised on more than 4,000 beaches and marinas in 48 countries.
The Abu Dhabi Corniche was awarded the Blue Flag in 2011, the first to be given in the Arabian Gulf region, according to Abdulla Al Junaibi, community service director at the Abu Dhabi City Municipality.
The Capital currently has five Blue Flags on its public beaches — three in the 3.2km stretch of the Corniche beach (Phase 1, 2 and the Hiltonia Lagoon), the 800-metre Al Bateen public beach and the 230-metre ladies beach at Al Bateen. "One of our main strategic goal is to improve (and adopt) the best services in our social facilities according to international and best standards… focusing on the environment, health and safety,” said Al Junaibi.
As part of the Blue Flag requirements, the Abu Dhabi beaches have 24-hour security, lifeguards, first aid clinics, washrooms and changing rooms. Safety buoys are also placed to be reached within 15 seconds by the lifeguard on duty. And to make the visit to the beach special needs-friendly, two wheelchairs are allocated at Al Bateen and two at the Corniche.
Water quality is also being monitored and tested on a monthly basis for three types of bacteria and findings are posted on the beach information board with a smiley if faecal coliforms are below 250 and faecal streptococci are below 100. If the bacterial count exceeds the acceptable quantity, the Blue Flag is lowered till the problem is resolved and water quality is once again established. From January to November this year, there were around 2.5 million visitors to all beaches managed by the municipality in the Capital. Of these, about 30,000 visit the open and paid areas on a monthly basis and around 15,000 come to the ladies beach.
Source: Khaleej Times