What are accessible beaches?

This year, there are 134 seaside and freshwater beaches accessible to people with limited mobility, 36 of which are in the Algarve.

The symbol "Accessible Beach, Beach for All" is a national project, coordinated by the Ministry of Work and Social Solidarity, through the National Institute for Rehabilitation.

The project was set up in 2004 and the aim is to make seaside and freshwater beaches accessible to disabled people or people with limited mobility – promoting equal rights in access to leisure areas – through the creation of basic conditions of access.

This year, 39 more beaches than last year can display this symbol.

Accessible beaches have improved pedestrian access, organised parking with space for vehicles being used by people with limited mobility, access ramps to the beach itself, walkways along the beach going as close as possible to the water, improved access to toilets adapted for the disabled and to the first aid post.

On beaches with this designation, visitors can also find amphibious wheelchairs (tiralos), amphibious crutches and other aids to enable people with limited mobility to get into the water.

There are 23 beaches with this symbol in the North of Portugal, 30 in the Centre, 24 in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, 12 in the Alentejo, 36 in the Algarve and 9 in the Azores.

Blue is not for all

The criteria that must be met in order to be awarded the blue flag are very stringent, but even so the number of beaches designated as such has been increasing year by year.

In 2008 Portugal has 193 beaches and 16 marinas with a Blue Flag, figures that include an additional three bathing areas and four marinas as compared with last year.

The Blue Flag is awarded annually to beaches and recreational harbours which meet a series of criteria both of an environmental nature and concerning the safety and comfort of users and information and awareness-raising about the environment.

The different municipalities or other bodies apply voluntarily to comply with the criteria for bathing zones, of which 23 are mandatory, 4 are guidelines and two do not apply to this country. The assessment embraces Water Quality, Environmental Information and Education, Environmental Management and Safety Equipment.

For Recreational Harbours and Marinas, 22 criteria are taken into account and the assessment focuses on the Quality of the Harbour, the Management of the Harbour, Environmental Education and Information and Safety.

The Algarve continues to be the region with most Blue Flags in the country, this year having 48 Blue Flag beaches, one more than in 2007, and four Recreational Harbours/Marinas.

The award is given by the European Blue Flag Association (ABAE), which was formally set up in 1990.

The beaches which sparkle with gold

There are also beaches classified by the Quercus Environmental Association as being of “gold” quality.

In 2008, 200 beaches earned this distinction, of which 67 are in the Algarve.

To decide which beaches warranted the “gold” distinction, Quercus selected “all the beaches where the water had always been classified as 'good' over the last five years (2003 – 2007) and that always has good analyses during the 2007 bathing system” according to the Association's site. The analysis is carried out by the Institute of Water.

However, Quercus adds that the list can also include beaches where, over the five years, some analyses had deviated in quality because of different circumstances, in particular adverse weather conditions, but whose justification had been accepted in the context of existing legislation.

In comparison with 2007, there are four more “gold” quality beaches, out of a total of 200 of the 508 bathing zones in the country.

The municipality with the most beaches with “gold” quality water is Albufeira (with 17 bathing zones), followed by Vila Nova de Gaia (11 bathing zones), Grândola and Vila do Bispo (9 bathing zones).

source: http://www.algarveobserver.com