Paloma Valdivia, CEDO Education, Communication and Outreach Manager.
Marcia Ortega, Director of Ecology and Sustainable Development of the Municipality of Puerto Peñasco.

Once again, Puerto Peñasco is a pioneer in the State of Sonora. The city was awarded a Blue Flag for a 72m (.5 mile) segment of El Mirador beach in front of Manny’s Beach Club. Blue Flag is a worldwide recognized award that guarantees compliance with international environmental responsibility standards for the management of beaches and marinas around the world. In Mexico, 57 beaches and marinas from six states have received this award.

The main goal of the Blue Flag program is to connect the public with their environment and encourage them to learn more about it. To qualify for this prestigious award, a series of 33 stringent environmental, educational, safety-related and access-related criteria must be met and maintained. We are proud that the Puerto Peñasco City Council and the local Clean Beaches Committee, of which CEDO Intercultural is part, have complied with the criteria to make El Mirador beach worthy of this award. 

It’s important to mention that some of the most awesome features of El Mirador beach include the tide pools formed in the rocky reef that runs parallel to the beach and is exposed at low tide. This ecosystem protects countless species such as the gulf sun star, the twin-spotted octopus and the emerald coralspecies that we would be unable to observe anywhere else without diving equipment 

CEDO Intercultural offers and promotes environmental education activities. We are in the process of designing a permanent exhibit featuring relevant information on the biodiversity, ecosystems, and environmental phenomena present in this location. 

We look forward to formally receiving the Blue Flag awarded by a Blue Flag International Jury through the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE Mexico), at the end of August. This flag may be raised at El Mirador beach during “Blue Flag Season” from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. The beach will be promoted as a Blue Flag site on the Blue Flag website. 

Blue Flag will undoubtedly bring countless benefits to Puerto Peñasco. One of them is positioning our region internationally as an environmentally responsible tourist destination. This will inspire actions to keep other beaches in our town healthy and will increase a sense of pride and belonging among residents. 

Congratulations to Puerto Peñasco for this great achievement!