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Topical - Geoheritage
How to implement Geoheritage and
Geodiversity in the QualityCoast Label and
COASTLEARN?
Hanneke van den Ancker and Albert Salman*
The QualityCoast Label and Flag
With the QualityCoast Award
programme, EUCC aims to
establish a worldwide network
of coastal areas that encourage sustainable
development, conservation of nature and
biodiversity, care for cultural heritage and
identity, and social responsibility, whilst
maintaining high standards in tourism.
The idea followed the Blue Flag programme,
with 3489 beaches and marinas
worldwide participating, (see www.blueflag.
org). The public responds very well to the
Blue Flag label because it indicates a good
quality of water, a clean and well-managed
beach and marina and proper safety regulations.
As a result, local communities are
eager to have a blue flag flying for their
beaches and marinas.
For visitors, a holiday is more than a
beach, and local authorities and the EUCC
started to expand the scope from a single
beach to a whole tourism destination. Since
2007, more than 140 tourist destinations in
23 countries have received a QualityCoast
Award, including coastal towns, resorts,
regional parks and islands. To acquire
a QualityCoast flag, a destination has to
pay attention to sustainable policies and
management of nature and biodiversity,
education and tourism facilities, the environmental
quality (including Blue Flag
requirements), keeping the identity of the
region: the culture and historical values of
villages, towns and landscapes, and respecting
human rights.
A local authority or a national or regional
park can submit an application for a QC
Award by completing a form. Every year,
* Director Sustainable Development,
EUCC, A.Salman@eucc.net
December is the deadline
for submitting
applications. Filling out
the questionnaire takes
a community approximately
two weeks. Costs
for participating depend
on the size of the area and
the number of inhabitants.
Some financial
support for the QC programme
is received from
the EU. The application
is screened by a team of
experts and the response
of the public visiting the
area is incorporated into
the judgement. The final evaluation is done
by a Jury, paying attention to the regional,
national and international standards in
sustainability and the score is computed
by adding several sectorial scores. A QualityCoast
policy Award is valid for a two-year
period.
Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards
For more details about the QualityCoast
criteria and indicators, see the EUCC website
and brochures: http://www.qualitycoast.
info/local-authorities/QCAward2013_Application_Manual.pdf
EUCC
The Coastal & Marine Union (EUCC) is the largest network
of coastal practitioners and experts in Europe,
an association with member organizations in 40 countries,
14 National Branches, and offices in five countries.
Its main objectives are promoting sustainable
coastal development, and maintaining healthy seas
and attractive coasts for both people and nature. EUCC
advocates best practice by developing coastal and
marine policies, mobilizing experts and stakeholders,
providing advice and information, and implementing
demonstration projects.
Figure 1: QualityCoast flag in Noordwijk, The Netherlands.
Depending on the score and Jury evaluation,
a gold, silver or bronze award and flag
are presented to applicants for the quality of
their sustainability policy. This is a higher
award level than the BasicQ Award and Flag
that a community receives when the actual
situation (‘status’) meets the basic criteria
for sustainable coastal management.
Top 100, Top 10
Each year a Top 100 ranking list of sustainable
coastal destinations is published,
and a Top 10 list of coastal regions that
best satisfy the sustainable policy criteria.
European Geologist 34 | November 2012
53