23-779: Swartkops is a village in Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa . The location is on the Swartkops River , 11 km north of Port Elizabeth and 1,6 km from the Indian Ocean. Swartkops means "black hills" in Afrikaans , and the name is said to refer to surrounding hillocks crested with dark shadows. A railway junction was built here by the Cape Government Railways in 1872, to service
46-587: A similar geographic location, and on 1 November for the Caribbean, New Zealand, South Africa, and other countries in the southern hemisphere . In the European Union, the water quality standards are incorporated in the EC Water Framework Directive . As of 2016 Spain has had more blue flag beaches than any other country every year since the awards began in 1987. As a result of the 2015 awards,
69-756: A source of water within a 200 m radius. 91% of households have access to a basic level of sanitation. 100% of households within the urban boundary have access to a basic level of solid waste removal, and 97% of households in formally demarcated municipal residential areas have access to a basic level of electricity. The municipality has 41 permanent and satellite clinics, 13 mobile clinics, eight hospitals, 22 libraries, 31 community and municipal halls, 79 sports facilities, 19 beaches, 18 pools, 273 schools, one university (the Nelson Mandela University ), four technical colleges and two Further Education and Training institutions. The censuses of 2001 and 2011 divided
92-492: A total of 4,154 Blue Flags are waving around the world. `The table below lists the Blue Flags (both for beaches and marinas) awarded and in force in 2015. The table can be sorted to show the total number of Blue Flags per country and also the number of Blue Flags per population, per area or per the length of the coastline of each country. [REDACTED] Costa Rica [REDACTED] Panama The Blue Flag
115-505: Is located on the shores of Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape province and comprises the city of Gqeberha , the nearby towns of Uitenhage and Despatch , and the surrounding rural area. The name "Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality" was chosen to honour former President Nelson Mandela . Bricks used in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality around 1903-04 may have been made from parts of
138-550: Is the mother tongue of 29.7%, and English, 12.1%. According to the 2009 edition of the municipality's 2006–2011 Integrated Development Plan, manufacturing is the single largest contributor to the local economy (33%), followed by community services (27%). Tourism represents a key sector of the economy that has increasingly contributed to job creation in recent years, thanks in large part to the municipality's seaside location and its abundance of unspoiled beaches, of which four carry Blue Flag status . 100% of households have access to
161-550: The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). Several organizations and authorities outside the European Union have joined FEE. In 2001, South Africa and several Caribbean countries joined. FEE has been cooperating with UNEP and UN WTO on extending the Programme to areas outside Europe. South Africa, Canada, Morocco, Tunisia, New Zealand and four countries in the Caribbean region are members of FEE. Aruba and Brazil are currently in
184-504: The Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality . In the 2007 census, 60.4% of respondents described themselves as Black African , 22.6% Coloured , 16.1% White and 0.9% Indian / Asian . The largest religious groupings are Christian (89.4% of residents), no religion (6.1%), Muslim (1.5%), Jewish (0.4%) and Hindu (0.3%). 57.3% of the residents speak Xhosa as their mother tongue . Afrikaans
207-464: The local government election of 1 November 2021 , no party obtained a majority on the council again. The African National Congress managed to form a minority coalition government to govern the municipality. Former councillor and businesswoman Eugene Johnson of the ANC was elected mayor on 22 November 2021, in a coalition consisting of the parties: GOOD, AIM, UDM, DOP, Northern Alliance, Patriotic Alliance and
230-534: The Blue Flag was developed on European level to include other areas of environmental management, such as waste management and coastal planning and protection. Besides beaches marinas also became eligible for the Blue Flag. In 1987, 244 beaches and 208 marinas from 10 countries were awarded the Blue Flag. There have been increases in the numbers of Blue Flags awarded each year. The criteria have during these years been changed to more strict criteria. As an example, in 1992
253-424: The Blue Flag. In addition, tour operators that offer whale watching, bird watching, seal watching, cage diving, recreational fishing and diving have to comply with additional criteria for the respective activity. These criteria are tailored to the different tourist experiences and take into account the specific environmental issues related to them. They include for example approach distances to different animal species,
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#1732883620566276-528: The PAC. She won against the DA's mayoral candidate, Nqaba Bhanga , by 1 vote, as a DA councillor was absent. During a council meeting on 21 September 2022, Johnson was removed as mayor through a vote of no confidence and succeeded by the DA's Retief Odendaal . Odendaal was, in return, removed as mayor in a vote of no confidence and replaced with council speaker Gary van Niekerk on 26 May 2023. The following table shows
299-489: The Programme started using the restrictive guideline values in the EEC Bathing Water Directive as imperative criteria, and this was also the year where all Blue Flag criteria became the same in all participating countries. In 2001, FEEE rules were changed to allow non-European national organizations, sharing the objectives of FEEE, to become members, and changed its name by dropping Europe from its name, becoming
322-463: The holotype of the sauropod dinosaur Algoasaurus bauri . Established on 5 December 2000, the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality was formed as an administrative area covering Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), the neighbouring towns of Kariega (Uitenhage) and Despatch and the surrounding agricultural areas. Thus included the following cities/towns/villages: As of the census of 2011, there are 1,152,115 people and 324,292 households in
345-491: The lines being constructed to Makhanda and Alicedale in the east, Port Elizabeth to the south, and Uitenhage to the west. The main route through Swartkops is Grahamstown Road ( R102 regional route ) which leads southwards to Deal Party and Port Elizabeth and northwards to Motherwell and Markman. The M17 route , named Dibanisa Road, passes Swartkops to the west running northwards to Markman and southwards to iBhayi . The M19 route , named Trunk Road, passes Swartkops to
368-411: The municipality into the following main places : The municipal council consists of one hundred and twenty members elected by mixed-member proportional representation . Sixty councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in sixty wards , while the remaining sixty are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received. In
391-706: The pilot phase of the Programme and Jordan, Macedonia, Turks & Caicos Islands, Ukraine and United Arab Emirates have started the implementation of the Blue Flag Programme. FEE standards allow for regional variations in beach criteria to reflect specific environmental conditions of a region. As of 2006 an international set of criteria is being used with some variations. In 2016, Blue Flag extended its programmed boat-based tourism activities like nature watching (whale watching, bird watching, cage diving etc.), recreational fishing, diving and crewed charter tours. Certified tour operators have to comply with criteria regarding
414-460: The provision of services and general environmental management criteria. The Blue Flag is sought for beaches, marinas, and sustainable boating tourism operators as an indication of their high environmental and quality standards. Certificates, which FEE refers to as awards, are issued on an annual basis to beaches and marinas of FEE member countries. The awards are announced yearly on 5 June for Europe, Canada, Morocco, Tunisia, and other countries in
437-514: The results of the 2021 municipal election. Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach , marina , or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a not-for-profit non-governmental organisation consisting of 65 organisations in 77 member countries. FEE's Blue Flag criteria include standards for quality, safety, environmental education and information,
460-495: The south running westwards to Redhouse , Perseverance, Despatch and Uitenhage . This Eastern Cape location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Nelson Mandela Bay The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality ( Xhosa : uMasipala oMbaxa iNelson Mandela Bay ; Afrikaans : Nelson Mandelabaai Metropolitaanse Munisipaliteit ) is one of eight metropolitan municipalities in South Africa . It
483-1002: The sustainable operation of their boats and their business as a whole. In 2015 over 4,154 beaches and marinas globally were awarded the Blue Flag. There are 44 countries participating in the Blue Flag Programme, along with two US territories: Bahamas , Belgium , Brazil , Bulgaria , Canada , Costa Rica , Croatia , Cyprus , Denmark , Dominican Republic , Estonia , France , Germany , Greece , Iceland , India , Ireland , Israel , Italy , Jordan , Latvia , Lithuania , Malta , Mexico , Montenegro , Morocco , Netherlands , New Zealand , Norway , Panama , Poland , Portugal , Puerto Rico , Romania , Serbia , Slovenia , South Africa , Spain , Sweden , Tunisia , Trinidad and Tobago , Turkey , United Arab Emirates , United Kingdom , Ukraine and US Virgin Islands . Microbiological test as evidence for bacterial free The criteria presented above apply to all tour operators that want to be awarded
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#1732883620566506-600: Was created in France in 1985, as a pilot scheme from the Office of the Foundation for Environmental Education in Europe ( Office français de la Fondation pour l'Education à l'Environnement en Europe ) where French coastal municipalities were awarded the Blue Flag on the basis of criteria covering sewage treatment and bathing water quality. 11 French municipalities got the award in 1985. 1987
529-655: Was the "European Year of the Environment" and the European Commission was responsible for developing the European Community activities of that year. The Foundation for Environmental Education in Europe (FEEE) presented the concept of the Blue Flag to the commission, and it was agreed to launch the Blue Flag Programme as one of several "European Year of the Environment" activities in the Community. The French concept of
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