OFYPEKA asks Chania to run Samaria Gorge operations
The Greek Organization for Nature and Biodiversity Conservation (OFYPEKA) has sent a letter to the Region of Crete asking the Regional Unit of Chania to take over operation of Samaria Gorge as a visitor site, including visitor management, ticketing and other operational matters, cretalive.gr reports.
The request follows a tourist season marked by repeated protests from residents and shopkeepers over gorge closures decided on the basis of weather forecasts. This month, OFYPEKA closed the gorge over a forecast of heavy rain that exceeded its safety threshold, one of several such shutdowns during the season. Criticism has focused on OFYPEKA, which the organization says is responsible for the site’s environmental protection but not for civil protection decisions. At one point, some residents of Agia Roumeli opened the gorge themselves and invited visitors to cross it despite the closure.
Unresolved plans and an unsigned agreement
In its letter, OFYPEKA reminds the Region of Crete of measures taken after rockfall incidents in 2023, caused by an earthquake, and in 2024, following heavy rainfall. The organization states that its responsibilities in the gorge are environmental, that it is not responsible for civil protection, disaster prevention or response, and that its role there is explicitly supportive. It says decisions on civil protection belong to the relevant Civil Protection services of the region and municipalities, adding that “the decision to open the gorge, when civil protection reasons apply, as well as to suspend or resume its operation for visitor safety reasons, belongs to the Region of Crete.”
According to OFYPEKA, an Emergency Response Plan has been pending since April 2025. The organization says it has submitted the plan for approval and that it has already been accepted by the municipalities of Sfakia and Platanias, but that it has not yet been approved in full by the region’s Directorate of Civil Protection and the deputy regional governor of Chania. OFYPEKA also says a Program Contract addressing rockfall risk remains unsigned.
What OFYPEKA is requesting
Shortly before the end of the current operating season, OFYPEKA is asking the Region of Crete to formally approve, through the relevant Civil Protection services, the full Emergency Response Plan for protecting visitors from natural hazards in the gorge, confirming the terms and conditions for suspending operation, before the start of the 2027 season.
The organization is also asking the region to take over decisions on starting, suspending and resuming the gorge’s operation for visitor-safety and civil-protection reasons, based on a reasoned recommendation from OFYPEKA. It further requests that the region sign the Program Contract on reducing rockfall risk or, if it considers changes necessary, submit a written proposal specifying which additional studies are required and which body should provide technical support and supervision. OFYPEKA repeats that it will cover the cost of any additional studies needed.
Comparison with other gorges
OFYPEKA notes that Kourtaliotiko Gorge is run by the Municipality of Agios Vasileios, while the Aradaina and Imbros gorges are managed by the Municipality of Sfakia, in both cases in cooperation with OFYPEKA. These arrangements are cited as examples of how other gorges in Crete operate under municipal management alongside the organization’s environmental oversight.
Given the public discussion around the gorge’s operating framework, OFYPEKA says it is resubmitting its proposal for the Regional Unit of Chania to take over the gorge’s operation as a visitor site. Under the proposal, OFYPEKA would retain its legal responsibility for environmental protection, while ticket revenue would go to the Regional Unit of Chania or another body the region proposes. The organization says it remains available for further clarification or cooperation and stresses the need for prompt decisions so that any new framework is in place before the gorge’s next operating season begins.
