New Blue Flags: putting an end to 'blue-washing'

'Blue Flags' (https://www.blueflag.global/) are meant to be an 'eco-label' demonstrating the high environmental quality of a beach. Nonetheless, in Spain, we have hundreds of beaches that have been awarded the certification and yet have a range of environmental issues including sewage pollution, coastal erosion, biodiversity losses, marine litter, port/maritime pollution, algae blooms etc. In my opinion, these certifications have been reduced to mere 'blue-washing' tools serving to boost tourism while foregoing environmental standards. I think tourism is a key tool in the blue economy (e.g. helping finance MPAs, employment for coastal communities etc.), however it is critical that environmental goals also be respected. As such, this project aims to reassess and redefine the standards which earn a beach a 'Blue Flag' and to promote a reconsideration at a national level (and if possible in other EU countries) of the beaches that currently hold this label to ensure they meet these standards. Awareness-raising should be integral to Blue Flag beaches, and will be a core part of this project as Blue Flags can be a useful tool in helping raise citizen knowledge about the environmental state of their coasts, wherein it is critical that legitimate information is regularly and openly available to beach visitors/locals.