KatatopisiΕλληνικά

Site of Community Importance (SCI)Λευκά Όρη και Παράκτια Ζώνη

Lefka Ori Kai Paraktia Zoni

Lefka Ori Kai Paraktia Zoni (GR4340008) is a Site of Community Importance (SCI) in the Natura 2000 network, 55,847 hectares (558 km²), with a marine part. It lies in the municipalities of Sfakia, Platanias, Kantanos-Selinon, Chania and Apokoronas (regional unit Chania, Crete). It is on the island of Crete. According to the European Environment Agency's database (2024 release) it protects 21 habitat types of Annex I and 8 species (mammals 1, reptiles 1, plants 6).

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What it protects

Source: the European Environment Agency's Natura 2000 database, 2024 release, as reported by the member state. Habitat types are shown with their Annex I code and the EEA's English name. Common names of species come from Wikidata where they exist, otherwise the scientific name is shown.

Annex I habitat types
CodeHabitat type (as the EEA gives it)Cover (ha)Priority
9540Mediterranean pine forests with endemic Mesogean pines8,973–
5420Sarcopoterium spinosum phryganas5,996–
5430Endemic phryganas of the Euphorbio-Verbascion2,302–
8140Eastern Mediterranean screes189–
92C0Platanus orientalis and Liquidambar orientalis woods (Platanion orientalis)43–
9320Olea and Ceratonia forests30–
92D0Southern riparian galleries and thickets (Nerio-Tamaricetea and Securinegion tinctoriae)29–
2230Malcolmietalia dune grasslands2–
1150Coastal lagoons1Priority
3170Mediterranean temporary ponds1Priority
1240Vegetated sea cliffs of the Mediterranean coasts with endemic Limonium spp.1–
6220Pseudo-steppe with grasses and annuals of the Thero-Brachypodietea1Priority
8210Calcareous rocky slopes with chasmophytic vegetation0–
1310Salicornia and other annuals colonizing mud and sand0–
1120Posidonia beds (Posidonion oceanicae)–Priority
1170Reefs––
3290Intermittently flowing Mediterranean rivers of the Paspalo-Agrostidion––
4090Endemic oro-Mediterranean heaths with gorse––
8310Caves not open to the public––
8330Submerged or partially submerged sea caves––
9290Cupressus forests (Acero-Cupression)––

Mammals (1)

Cretan Wild Goat (Capra aegagrus)

Reptiles (1)

European ratsnake (Zamenis situla)

Plants (6)

Bupleurum kakiskalae, Cephalanthera cucullata, Hypericum aciferum, Nepeta sphaciotica, Origanum dictamnus, Zelkova abelicea

Designation

It is protected for the habitat types and species of Annexes I and II of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) as a Site of Community Importance; member states designate such sites as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC).

Network codes
CodeTypeAreaDesignated (EEA)Name in the EEA register
GR4340008Site of Community Importance (SCI)55,847 haApril 1997LEFKA ORI KAI PARAKTIA ZONI

Legal basis: Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). The register name is the one the EEA publishes.

Places inside and beside the site

Settlements, official bathing-water sites and sights with a page of their own whose point lies inside the boundary or up to 3 km outside it. Inside: 11. Up to 12 per kind are shown, best known first.

Towns and villages: inside the boundary (3)

Towns and villages: within 3 km outside the boundary

Beaches: inside the boundary (2)

Beaches: within 3 km outside the boundary

Sights: inside the boundary (6)

Sights: within 3 km outside the boundary

Works and permits in the site

Works and plans that could significantly affect a Natura 2000 site need an appropriate assessment of their effects under Article 6(3) of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). In Greece this is the Special Ecological Assessment (Ειδική Οικολογική Αξιολόγηση, ΕΟΑ) under law 4014/2011. The Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency (ΟΦΥΠΕΚΑ) is responsible for managing Natura 2000 sites, through the protected-area management bodies.

This page is not legal advice and does not say what is allowed on a particular property. Each site's rules are set in the official texts; for a property or a project, ask the competent authority. Natura 2000 at the European Commission.

How the numbers were counted

The boundary is the Ministry's (YPEN geoportal). The code, name, area, date of designation, habitat types and species are from the EEA's Natura 2000 database (2024 release, fetched 8 Oct 2026). Habitat cover is what the member state reports; where the EEA gives an "unknown" value (9999) or one larger than the site, it is not shown. The EEA gives the marine part only as yes or no, not as a share, and we do not use the "quality and importance" text of the data form. The EEA data is licensed CC BY 4.0 (copyright holder: the European Commission's Directorate-General for Environment). The Greek and English names of sites and species, and the Wikipedia article titles, are Wikidata's (CC0).

Municipalities come from sample points inside the boundary: one is named when it holds at least 5% of the points that fall on land. For a purely marine site the nearest coastal municipality (within 60 km) is named. The settlements, beaches and sights are those that have a page on this site; municipal boundaries and island outlines are from OpenStreetMap.

Places nearby

Pages of this site, in a straight line and on the same side of the water, nearest first.

Nearest airport

Nearest ferry port

See also

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from the sources below, with the date each was updated.

Page updated .