Author: Denis Tahiri
Not more than 3 kilometers as the crow flies between Velipoja and Montenegro is the nearest beach certified with the blue flag. But Albania is not found on the map of countries that have the "Blue flag" symbol, which is the ecological indicator for a coast with a high environmental standard.
Dozens of other countries have "seized" the flag, turning into the safest destinations for tourists.
In 2008 the article of "Interpress Agency” warned that the quality of the unspoiled beaches of South Albania could receive the recognition of the ecological standard. But the condition was "if the government addresses the growing problems with solid water and sewage treatment in the region. Blue Flag status is awarded by the Foundation for Environmental Education, an independent non-profit organization based in Copenhagen, Denmark, to beaches that comply with strict water quality criteria on different continents. Albania is the only coastal country in Europe where no beach is marked with a blue flag.was written among others at that time. Although more than 15 years have passed, Albania still remains the only coastal country on the European continent, without any blue flag on its beaches.
In Albania, the Blue Flag was introduced in 2008 by the World Bank and the United Nations as part of the coastal tourism project. No Albanian government managed to implement this element to put Albania on the global map. "Sinjalizo" turned to the Ministry of Tourism with a request for a response, if it has included this certification in its programs for the promotion of tourism, but no response was given.
In 2020, the parent organization "Blue Flag" would certify the "Albanian Coast Lifeguards and Water Rescue Federation" as its representative in Albania and only three years later, the first application to receive the blue flag on a beach would be made Albanian.
To be certified, a beach must meet 33 non-negotiable criteria, which are divided into four main categories related to Environmental Education and Information, Water Quality, Environmental Management and Safety and Services.
"If a beach that has Blue Flag certification does not meet the criteria, the flag can be withdrawn permanently or temporarily from the beach", says the "Blue Flag Albania" organization, adding that in all cases of non-fulfillment of the criteria, the National Operator must immediately inform the beach operator of the non-compliance criteria and that the information about the reason for withdrawing the flag must be clearly posted on the beach.
"A part of the beaches are very rocky, they cannot meet the criteria of accessibility, but another part can meet the conditions", Eni Metaj, General Secretary of the Albanian Federation of "Beach Watchers and Water Rescue", partner of "Blue Flag Albania", says for "Sinjalizo". Metaj adds that even today information remains a challenge in the local tourism industry, that there is no knowledge of what "blue flag" is.
"From all the conversations that took place, it was understood that two or three resorts were interested. The problem we encountered was that none of these resorts, despite the millions of euros invested, had ramps, and where they were told that they needed ramps, they said that they cannot destroy the architecture of my beach. says the expert.
After three years, Albania may very soon have the first beach certified with "Blue Flag". "This year we have a beach in a resort that submitted the application and met all the criteria". adds Eni Metaj, emphasizing that the certification with the blue flag is related to the readiness of the beaches to meet the necessary conditions. "It's not like 100 applied and none got it, there's only one application this year." explains Metaj.
For the expert, it is necessary that local and central institutions support the awareness campaign that would spread the "blue flag" in Albania.In Italy, for example, the state, the ministry and the municipalities, gathered and held an information meeting day about "Blue Flag" and this is what we need.",representative Metaj closes the explanations.
But "Blue Flag" does not deal with high pollution
On the beach behind the canal in Durrës, you can feel the pollution on the Adriatic coast with your senses. It is enough to look at the concrete channel and one can clearly understand the pollution that is discharged into the sea. Just a few meters away, during the hot summer months, hundreds of citizens relax and swim on this beach.
According to the National Environment Agency, at the monitoring station in Plepa after the canal, but also at the Rock of Kavaja, pollution has resulted in high values during 2022. In the report published in 2020 by KMA, it is said that on the beaches of Durrës, 90.5% theirs have excellent water quality, while 9.5% have very poor water quality.
Even the "Military Rest House" has not escaped the pollution on this coast. From the central laboratory of the Armed Forces, the pollution of coastal bathing waters in the "Military Rest House in Durrës" has also been monitored. "In its southern part, the waters of a canal flow directly into the sea, without preliminary treatment. Based on the measurements carried out during 2020, it was found that the quality of the coastal waters for bathing in this Holiday Home was 67% of category D-bad quality". highlighted in the KTA report.
The problem of coastal water quality is also widespread in other areas of the country. The city of Saranda is no exception to this problem.
"In monitoring station 6 (Chuka Channel), according to the analytical results, microbial contamination was found in 4 sampling campaigns, while in monitoring point 3 (New Beach) microbial contamination was found in one sampling campaign", mentions KTA.
Even this year, "Lifeguard" is lacking on the Albanian coast
On the eve of the end of the summer season, it seems that the problems with the safety of the beaches in Albania will unfortunately be present again. "To date, we have certified 1300 beach watchers, while there are 2990 beach stations, that is, we don't even have half of them, we are lacking". says the General Secretary of the Albanian Federation "Beach and Rescue Watchers".
