Q COSTA RICA (Tamarindo News) The Chamber of Commerce and Tourism of Tamarindo (CCTT) will soon present the application for the Ecological Blue Flag Award, on the basis of the actions accomplished in 2016 pertaining to saving water, solid waste collection and Aedes aegypti mosquito breeding sites removal.
According to Hernán Imhoff, President of the CCTT, these initiatives came to fruition last year with concrete actions such as the organization of the first Tamarindo Water Expo, where companies related to the water sector demonstrated during four conferences low-consumption technologies and the efficient use of water.
Imhoff also stated that they had been working with the Rural Aqueduct Management Associations (ASADAS) in meeting quality standards, training and workshops.
“Year 2016 was very intense for us because we made strong efforts to create awareness in terms of saving water. Well-drilling is nonsense if we keep on wasting water,” Imhoff said. According to the Costa Rican Water and Sewage Institute (AyA), who organize the Blue Flag Program (EBFP), participants must form Local Committees and formalize their registration from January to March each year with the National Blue Flag Commission.
Additionally, there must be work programs developed by April each year, as well as follow-up actions to meet statutory and complementary parameters with annual reports sent to the National Commission (EBFP) in December of the corresponding period. Concrete results In March and July 2016, the Chamber, the Municipality of Santa Cruz, the Ministry of Health and the National University (UN) in Nicoya organized solid waste collection days, when approximately 50 people covered Playa Tamarindo and Langosta.
“In these actions, 4.5 tons of solid waste were removed and transported to a collection center. We expect to repeat the experience in 2017,” Imhoff said.
With this action, Aedes aegypti mosquito breeding sites were removed. The mosquito is carrier of dengue, zika and chikungunya diseases.
The Blue Flag Ecological Program is a certification granted every year to organizations or local committees to reward efforts and volunteer work in the pursuit of conservation and development consistent with the protection of natural resources, the implementation of actions to address climate change, the search for better sanitary conditions and improvement of public health.
In the case of communities, the EBFP takes into account the following criteria: Fresh water (20%), solid waste disposal (10%), treated run-off water (15%), road, tourist sites or public interest signs (10%), environmental education (10%), human health attention (10%), industrial waste disposal (10%), water resource protection (10%), and environmental and police security (10%).
From Tamarindo News
