The Blue flagthe badge that recognizes the environmental quality of the beaches and bathing areas of our country, already waves in the natural pools of Bajamar and El Arenisco, in Punta del Hidalgo, after the hoisting act held this Thursday in both enclaves, and in which the mayor of La Laguna participated, Luis Yeray Gutierrez; the Councilor for Beaches and Swimming Pools, Cristina Ledesma; the councilors María José Roca and Idaira Afonso, and numerous residents of the area.
“The granting of the Blue Flag to our natural pools shows that the work carried out by the different departments of the City Council is giving results,” said the mayor. “We were determined from the beginning of the mandate to recover the lagoon coast and we are doing it.” This distinction comes, he assured, “to ratify the tourism and environmental potential of our coastline.”
Luis Yeray Gutiérrez underlined “the commitment of the Government of La Laguna with the conservation values of natural environments symbolized by the Blue Flag, both in the case of the bathing areas of Bajamar and Punta del Hidalgo, as well as in the Sendero de la Costa, which also has this distinction, thanks to the work carried out from the Beaches and Pools area».
The mayor recalled that in recent years numerous actions have been undertaken to optimize the conditions of the lagoon coastline«the largest has been precisely the remodeling of the Bajamar breakwater, which has led to a notable improvement in this area in terms of safety, as well as in the quality of the beach», in addition to other interventions dedicated to improving the conditions of natural pools and the promotion and conservation of the environmental values of the coast, among others.
For Cristina Ledesma, “the lagoon coast is rewarded by this recognition, which invites us to continue working along the same lines not only in Bajamar and Punta del Hidalgo, but also in other enclaves such as Jóver, where we also aspire to obtain the Flag Blue in 2023 since this year it has not been possible. In any case, our coast has excellent natural resources, good services and natural values that we want to continue conserving and making known”.
In this sense, the councilor recalls that the actions of the Beaches and Swimming Pools area focus on improving the municipality’s bathing areas, with maintenance and modernization works, as well as interventions carried out on the coast, such as the creation of bird watching and the renovation of all the informative posters, with the collaboration of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, Fight against Climate Change and Territorial Planning of the Government of the Canary Islands.
The Blue Flag distinguishes those beaches and marinas that meet the criteria of excellence in bathing water qualitycomply with environmental regulations, and have adequate health and safety infrastructure to guarantee the health and safety of their users.
The Blue Flag is an annual award and an environmental quality certification system developed by the FEE (Federation of Environmental Education). In Spain, this initiative is coordinated by Adeac (Association of Environmental and Consumer Education). In the Canary Islands, the Blue Flag initiative is managed in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, through the General Directorate of Public Health of the Canary Islands Health Service.
For its part, The Blue Paths are itineraries and landscape elements that link beaches or ports with a Blue Flag and contribute positively to the sustainable use of the coastline. For the awarded municipalities, it is a recognition of their work in the improvement and restoration of their natural and ethnological coastal heritage.
