The Blue Flag Programme is owned and run by the independent non-profit organisation Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE).

The Blue Flag works towards sustainable development at beaches/marinas through strict criteria dealing with water quality, environmental education and information, environmental management, and safety and other services.

The Blue Flag Programme includes environmental education and information for the public, decision makers and tourism operators.

See www.blueflag.org for more information.

Greece has been rewarded with 387 light blue flags for beaches and 9 light blue flags for marinas for the year 2011.
On he island of Crete there are in total 98 light blue flags.

To get the light blue flag award, there are many strict criteria to comply to. The most important are that the whate is of excellent quality, the beaches are clean and that the wider area is protecting the beach for pollution of wast and water.

List if criteria:

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND INFORMATION

Information about the Blue Flag must be displayed

Environmental education activities must be offered and promoted to beach users

Information about bathing water quality must be displayed

Information relating to local eco-systems and environmental phenomena must be displayed

A map of the beach indicating different facilities must be displayed

A code of conduct that reflects appropriate laws governing the use of the beach and surrounding areas must be displayed

WATER QUALITY

The beach must fully comply with the water quality sampling and frequency requirements

The beach must fully comply with the standards and requirements for water quality analysis

No industrial, waste-water or sewage-related discharges should affect the beach area

The beach must comply with the Blue Flag requirements for the microbiological parameter faecal coli bacteria (E.coli) and intestinal enterococci/streptococci

The beach must comply with the Blue Flag requirements for the following physical and chemical parameters

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

The local authority/beach operator should establish a beach management committee

The local authority/beach operator must comply with all regulations affecting the location and operation of the beach

The beach must be clean

Algae vegetation or natural debris should be left on the beach

Waste disposal bins/containers must be available at the beach in adequate numbers and they must be regularly maintained

Facilities for the separation of recyclable waste materials should be available at the beach

An adequate number of toilet or restroom facilities must be provided

The toilet or restroom facilities must be kept clean

The toilet or restroom facilities must have controlled sewage disposal

On the beach there will be no unauthorised camping or driving and no dumping

Access to the beach by dogs and other domestic animals must be strictly controlled

All buildings and beach equipment must be properly maintained

Coral reefs in the vicinity of the beach must be monitored

A sustainable means of transportation should be promoted in the beach area

SAFETY AND SERVICES

An adequate number of lifeguards and/or lifesaving equipment must be available at the beach

First aid equipment must be available on the beach

Emergency plans to cope with pollution risks must be in place

There must be management of different users and uses of the beach so as to prevent conflicts and accidents

There must be safety measures in place to protect users of the beach

A supply of drinking water should be available at the beach

At least one Blue Flag beach in each municipality must have access and facilities provided for the physically disabled