Donate and choose which beach in Cyprus gets to be transformed next into a Costa Nostrum Sustainable beach

We’re the first generation to know that we are destroying the world and the last that can do something about it,” - Tanya Steele, WWF.

Until today we have certified 13 beaches and we will continue our mission with all our efforts. Our main goal is to certify beaches all over the island of Cyprus, in order our protocol and our “work” to become well known and resulting to better sustainable beaches for every tourist and inhabitant of Cyprus. In this effort, we need your help, through our crowdfunding campaign, to enable the first beach certification of your choice in Cyprus (maximum length of each beach, up to 500 meters).

In order to tell us which beach would you like to be certified as Costa Nostrum - Sustainable Beach, please fill the following form: https://cnsl.eu/formc4cr

Costa Nostrum was established in 2015 in Crete, Greece. A multiple award-winning startup company, with the purpose of promoting and implementing the private certification standard “Certification Standard for Sustainable Management and Development of the Mediterranean Beaches – Costa Nostrum Sustainable Beaches”, through the effect of which the sustainable management and development of each beach (public or “privately” exploited) may be achieved in an objective manner and succeeding to “convert” a simple beach, into a worldwide top destination, with a sustainability certification. It can be applied to all Mediterranean beaches.

“If you want to change the world - be the change” - Gandhi

Costa Nostrum (= means “our coast”) Sustainable Beaches is an innovative dynamic certification standard based on specific indicators and criteria allowing the sustainability classification and assessment of each beach through an objective grading scale.

It consists of three main pillars: The initial study of the certified beach incorporates suggestions on the sustainable development and management of the beach based on its capabilities, infrastructures and characteristics. Secondly, the beach assessment - certification is provided and based upon 39 objective criteria – indicators (social, economic and environmental). Finally, the third pillar is the worldwide promotion of the beach through our website, which represents a free online information portal for the Mediterranean tourists, in regard to the infrastructure, classification and characteristics (natural – technical) of all certified beaches, allowing visitors to search & choose for an awarded beach depending on their personal requirements avoiding unnecessary wanderings.

Similar protocol for the sustainable management, certification and promotion of beaches does NOT exist globally. We seek to achieve the sustainable development of both the beaches and the wider coastal area and to prevent the environmental causes, instead of "curing" them, by proposing specific actions depending on the unique characteristics of each beach. It is a dynamic upgrading system that can incorporate solutions, depending on the needs and characteristics of each beach. Aimed at all beaches (organized and unorganized), with objective classification and categorization. Bathers take part in the evaluation of the protocol itself and its correct application. It takes into account the carrying capacity of each beach and allows its annual scoring upgrade. It creates an experiential two-way link between the bather and the beach and a very personalized tourist experience. It offers practical beach management tools to beach managers, while creates a healthy competitive environment.

Costa Nostrum protocol is attempting to achieve the sustainable development of both the beaches and the wider region and it doesn’t only focus on environmental protection. Costa Nostrum is addressed to all beaches, by objectively classifying them based on their rating, Additionally, it provides the opportunity to bathers to participate in the evaluation of the awarded beach through an online questionnaire on an ongoing basis. The evaluation takes into consideration the carrying capacity of each beach, while it enables annual beach improvement and improves beach ranking.

The certified beaches have become environmentally friendlier, cleaner and the waste beach management procedures have been improved rapidly. This is based on of the online questionnaire surveys in all the certified beaches (>6000 bathers’ responses), where the bathers’ satisfaction degree for the sustainable waste’ management procedures increased to 81%, while the bathers’ satisfaction degree about the cleanness of the beach area and the sea bottom has increased to 85% and 84%, respectively. The waste management procedures have been improved, resulting in hundreds of tons of recycled materials annually being collected from the beaches and to be sent for recycling.

It is estimated that we contributed, through our interventions, to an increase of about 30% of the total number of endemic species, on the beaches, whereas, the bathers’ total satisfaction degree was measured to be more than 85%.

"To say I love responsibility, I alone, I will save the world. If it is lost, I will have the blame.” Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek writer