Photography: DR
Baleia-Sul, Foz do Lizandro, São Lourenço and Calada beaches where distinguished with the Qualidade de Ouro 2014 (Golden Quality 2014) by the Portuguese eco-association Associação Nacional de Conservação da Natureza Quercus
The grade is given to the beaches that present the top water quality rating, according to an European directive, for five straight years.
355 beaches received the Qualidade de Ouro designation in 2014, meaning that two out of three beaches got the Quercus award. Comparing to 2004, there are 268 new beaches with this environmental label.
Francisco Ferreira, a leading figure of the association, said that the prize’s objective is to “dignify the beaches for having a very consistent water quality”. “This enriches pretty much the people’s choices of which beaches to go to.”
Of all the 355 awarded beaches, 244 (69%) have the Blue Flag, distinction given by the European Blue Flag Programme eco-label for Beaches and Marinas.
Last year, 92% of coastal beaches where ranked as “excellent” and 98% gathered a minimum quality criteria. As for the interior beaches, 60% had the quality label “excellent” and 85% had the minimum quality standards, as read in Público newspaper.
Esta publicação também está disponível em | This article is also available in: Portuguese (Portugal)
