The flag highlights the commitment of the municipalities in the conservation and recovery of paths and itineraries for sustainable enjoyment

 

Published: 8th April 2024

 

The mayoress of Mijas, Ana Mata (PP), and the councillor for Beaches, Daniel Gómez Teruel (PP), this morning raised the Blue Flag on the coastal path. This distinction is awarded annually by the Association for Environmental and Consumer Education (ADEAC). In this way, the municipality renews this recognition, which values the commitment of towns and administrations to recover and conserve paths and itineraries that promote environmental education and the sustainable enjoyment of our environment.

The mayoress explained that Mijas has had this distinction since 2016, meeting a series of indicators and criteria distributed in four categories: characteristics of the trails and routes; information, signage and infrastructure on the trails; conservation and management of natural and cultural heritage; and public use of the trails. "This recognition encourages us to continue working so that Mijas continues to be a model for the quality of the services it provides and it is everyone's responsibility to look after and maintain it. With awards such as the Blue Path Flag, the richness of our coastline is also highlighted, which acquires a very important significance not only for visitors but also for the residents of our municipality".

The coastal path of Mijas is a pedestrian route that runs parallel to the Mediterranean Sea from La Cala to Marbella. In addition to being a connecting axis, it has a great scenic value as it allows you to learn about the characteristics of the fauna and flora of the area thanks to the information panels distributed at different points along the route. In this sense, the councillor for Beaches recalled some of the criteria that the ADEAC takes into account when granting and renewing these awards, such as accessibility, the presence of information panels, the promotion of educational activities and environmental awareness, as well as the underwater wealth "thanks to the forest of posidonias that we have, which is unique on the coast".

Spain currently has these labels on 128 trails in 115 municipalities, with a total of 858.61 km. In the province of Malaga, in addition to Mijas, only Nerja has this award.

Blue Paths is an exclusive international initiative of ADEAC, which was born in 2011 as a pilot programme for twelve educational coastal paths that had the particularity of linking beaches awarded with Blue Flag. Over the last decade, it has been supported by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition. The association is also responsible for other programmes such as Blue Flag, Eco-schools, Young Reporters for the Environment and Green Key.

 

Source: Mijas Comunicación S.A.