FOUR local properties, including the newly-built Port Antonio Marina, are to receive Blue Flag certification later this year, signalling that they are clean and safe for bathing, having met the four sets of criteria laid down by the Denmark-based environmental body, Blue Flag.

The four properties, which also include Montego Bay’s Doctor’s Cave Bathing Club, the Norman Manley Sea Park and the beach at Merril’s Beach Resorts in Negril, are expected to be endorsed in November.

Blue Flag is an eco-label for beaches and marinas that meet standards relating to water quality, environmental management, environmental education and information, safety and services.

Jamaica is among five countries participating in a pilot programme in the Caribbean. The other participating countries are Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Barbados, and the Dominican Republic.

The campaign is being conducted internationally by the Foundation for Environmental Education, a non-profit, non-governmental organisation headquartered in Denmark. Regionally, Blue Flag is administered by a consortium of three regional bodies – the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, the Caribbean Conservation Association and the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism.

In Jamaica, the programme is coordinated by the National Environment and Planning Agency, the Coastal Water Quality Improvement Project (CWIP) – a programme funded jointly by the United States Agency for International Development and the Government of Jamaica along with the Ministry of Industry and Tourism.

“What this will mean is that they (beaches) have an opportunity to market the Blue Fag symbol to hotel and tourist operators in Europe and United States, who will in turn steer their clients to the properties,” chief of party for CWIP, Dr Scott McCormick, told the Observer.

He said Blue Flag-endorsed beaches are the preferred outing spots for most Europeans.

“There are approximately 2,400 (endorsed) beaches in Europe and many Europeans only go to Blue Flag beaches,” he noted. “Most of the main tourist operators are familiar with Blue Flag and as such can guarantee their customers that those beaches are safe bathing places.”

He said the endorsement could mean more business for the local properties.

The Blue Flag campaign was introduced to the Caribbean in 1999 and encourages the practice of integrated environmental management with special focus on the conservation of coastal resources, while acting as a positive economic incentive to beach and marina managers, and participating communities by appealing to the users of beaches and marinas who prefer “green” products.