{"id":160151,"date":"2025-03-26T19:34:38","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T14:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/?post_type=current-affairs&#038;p=160151"},"modified":"2025-03-26T19:37:44","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T14:07:44","slug":"rushikonda-beach-blue-flag-certification-restored","status":"publish","type":"current-affairs","link":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/rushikonda-beach-blue-flag-certification-restored","title":{"rendered":"Rushikonda Beach\u2019s Blue Flag Certification Restored"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Visakhapatnam\u2019s Rushikonda Beach has regained its prestigious Blue Flag certification, marking the end of a temporary suspension.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>About Rushikonda Beach<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Located in <\/span><b>Visakhapatnam on the coast of Bay of Bengal<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rushikonda literally means <\/span><b>&#8220;Hill of the Sages&#8221;<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Surrounded by seven hills, the <\/span><b>14th century Sapta Rusheswara Temple<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is also located in Rishikonda.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-160124 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/262-67e3fa6fa43d9.webp\" alt=\"Rushikonda Beach\" width=\"360\" height=\"378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/262-67e3fa6fa43d9.webp 520w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/262-67e3fa6fa43d9-286x300.webp 286w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Awarded the <\/span><b>Blue Flag certification in 2020<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but it was <\/span><b>temporarily revoked <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">due to concerns about environmental management and hygiene.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">O<\/span><b>nly Blue Flag beach in Andhra Pradesh and is among the 13 Blue Flag beaches in India.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>About Blue Flag Certification<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>\u2018Blue Flag\u2019 is a certification<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that can be obtained by a <\/span><b>beach<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><b>marina<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or <\/span><b>sustainable boating tourism operator,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and serves as an<\/span><b> eco-label<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Certification is awarded by<\/b> <b>Denmark-based non-profit<\/b> <b>Foundation for Environmental Education<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Awarded annually to Beaches and Marinas in FEE member countries.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Internationally recognised eco-label <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that is accorded based <\/span><b>on 33 criterias<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Standards were established by the <\/span><b>Copenhagen-based Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in 1985<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These criteria are <\/span><b>divided into 4 major heads namely,<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Environmental education and information<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Bathing water quality<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Environmental management<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Conservation and safety services in the beaches<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Accorded by the international jury composed of<\/b> <b>United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><b>United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><b>Denmark-based NGO Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and<\/span><b> International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Certification is updated annually <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Locations must <\/span><b>continue to meet the criteria to retain their Blue Flag status<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Blue Flag Beaches<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Over<\/span><b> 4000 Blue Flag<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> certified beaches <\/span><b>across the world<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Spain led<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with a total of <\/span><b>729 blue flag sites<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 followed by <\/span><b>Greece<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>India<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:\u00a0 <\/span><b>13 Blue Flag Beaches<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>On the lines of Blue Flag certification<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, India has also launched its own eco-label <\/span><b>BEAMS\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>About Beach Environment &#038; Aesthetics Management Services (BEAMS)<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>It<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> comes under<\/span><b> ICZM (Integrated Coastal Zone Management) project.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Launched by<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: S<\/span><b>ociety of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the <\/span><b>Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Objectives of BEAMS program are to:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Abate pollution <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in coastal waters,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Promote <\/span><b>sustainable development <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of beach facilities,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Protect &#038; conserve<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> coastal ecosystems &#038; natural resources,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strive and maintain<\/span><b> high standards of cleanliness,<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Hygiene &#038; safety<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for beachgoers in accordance with coastal environment &#038; regulations.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>About Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>AIM:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> To <\/span><b>improve livelihood of coastal communities<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and<\/span><b> conserve the coastal ecosystem.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>World Bank<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> assisted project.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provide <\/span><b>scientific and technical inputs.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>The concept of ICZM was born in 1992 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">during the<\/span><b> Earth Summit of Rio de Janeiro.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 99.6375%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 111.19%; text-align: center;\" 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suspension.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":160128,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"paper-wise":[2089],"subject":[4642],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/160151"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/current-affairs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160151"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/160151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":160154,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/160151\/revisions\/160154"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160151"},{"taxonomy":"paper-wise","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/paper-wise?post=160151"},{"taxonomy":"subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/subject?post=160151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}