Greece has two island archipelagos, the Aegean and the Ionian, which host a rich array of plants and wildlife, particularly endemic and threatened plant species. Greece is important because the Aegean islands hold important populations of Mediterranean birds endangered elsewhere, including 80 per cent of the world’s breeding population of Eleonora’s falcon and a significant proportion of the Yelkouan shearwater.

Greece also has the second highest number of threatened species in Europe as well as in the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot, after Spain. Greece has already designated 30.22% of its land and 19.41% of its marine area as Natura 2000. 309 species and 90 habitats are protected under EU law. This is among the highest percentages compared to other EU countries. A notable example of endangered species in Greece is Caretta caretta, the loggerhead sea turtle, in the Mediterranean. Although it nests usually in Kyparissia Bay in the western Peloponnese, our nearby beach in Ios has a surprise visit of 30 turtles that hatched this summer (2022). It is a protected species based on K.O.92/43/EEC and PD 617/80 -PD 67/81.

An Important Bird Area (IBA) is an area that has globally important habitat for the conservation of populations of birds, for example habitats that sustain a population of an internationally threatened species, or house large numbers or concentrations of migratory birds, shorebirds or seabirds, or which support a significant number of bird species with restricted distributions. To see the IBA in Ios, please visit here.

Biodiversity plays an important role in the day-to-day life of our hotel: from the food in the café bar to the wood in furniture and fittings, the products of biodiversity are everywhere inside Petra. While beyond our hotel entrance, the beautiful coastline & beaches of Ios and other natural habitats provide visitors with opportunities for recreation and enjoyment.

Petra Holiday Village recognises that conserving biodiversity is in long term interest of our hotel and the society of Ios island at large. Petra is not located in a critical habitat nor ecologically sensitive area although the Mediterranean sea is increasingly under threat from the impacts of human activities such as trawling and pollution.

Our hotel operations maintain legal compliance to Greek & EU biodiversity-related laws and regulation. We avoid the introduction of any new potentially invasive, non-native species to our island. We have identified biodiversity conservation organisations and seek to engage and collaborate with them in the future to learn from them and share their knowledge with our guests;

• • WWF Greece
  • Hellenic Society for Environment and Culture
  • Hellenic Ornithological Society
  • Mediterranean Institute for Nature and Anthropos
  • iSea, for the protection of aquatic ecosystems
  • Archipelagos – Institute of Marine Conservation
  • Hellenic Biodiversity Observatory

Petra supports more ambitious biodiversity targets at national level and an increase in the level of funding for biodiversity.

How we contribute to biodiversity and wildlife conservation?

• Petra aims to eradicate all types of litter. We lead seasonal beach cleans to remove litter from the nearby Gialos beach.
• Our Dark Skies policy reduces our impact on light pollution, while we maintain low noise levels on our property.
• We have switched to certified eco-friendly chemicals and cleaning products, where possible.
• We have removed single use plastics from our property.
• Our landscaping is natural to the environment. Native landscaping involves using plants that occur naturally in a local environment. Our garden includes olive trees, eucalyptus, myoporum, vines, fig, rosemary, bougainvillea, cedar, prickly pear, geranium, acacia and pistacia plants. We do not spray or use any pesticides in our garden.

Biodiversity Code of Conduct

We suggest that our guests be informed of the characteristics of the local biodiversity, what you can do to protect and enjoy that biodiversity and what actions our hotel is taking to contribute to conservation in Ios.