Μake us preferred on Google The rare Preveli Palm Forest on the Greek island of Crete has suffered its worst destruction since 2010 after a wildfire burned through the area of southern Rethymno for several days in late July, raising wider concerns about the future of the unique ecosystem.
Yet despite the scale of the damage, there is hope that the forest could begin turning green again within two or three years, according to Eleftheria Antaloudaki, a botanist and curator at the Natural History Museum of Crete.
Speaking to the Orange Press Agency, Antaloudaki said the palm is a highly resilient plant that can withstand major disturbances and regenerate.
REGENERATION OF THE PREVELI PALM FOREST (EUROKINISSI / MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY PRESS OFFICE)
“The palm can withstand such disturbances, so it can regenerate,” she said. The plant retains a significant amount of water inside its trunk, meaning that “as long as its central, inner part does not burn, we can see it sprout again within a few years.”
REGENERATION OF THE PREVELI PALM FOREST (EUROKINISSI / MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY PRESS OFFICE)
Part of the forest escaped the fire
One of the most encouraging signs is that part of the forest remained untouched by the flames. The fire did not reach palms located farther inside the gorge.
“Of course, the largest number of palms are actually located at the river mouth, and those are the ones that burned,” Antaloudaki said.
Images of the burned area at Preveli Beach in Rethymno, Friday, July 31, 2026 (Antonis Zouridakis / Eurokinissi)
The survival of palms deeper inside the gorge could therefore provide an important element of resilience for the ecosystem as it begins to recover.
The recovery of the Preveli forest is particularly significant because the ecosystem is exceptionally rare. According to Antaloudaki, it is found nowhere else in Europe apart from Crete and the Canary Islands, where native palms also grow.
IMAGES OF THE BURNED AREA AT PREVELI BEACH IN RETHYMNO (CONTRIBUTOR / EUROKINISSI)
The Natural History Museum of Crete is working with partners in the Canary Islands as part of a European program dedicated to the conservation and protection of the Theophrastus palm, the species found at Preveli.
Experts warn against further pressure
Antaloudaki estimates that natural recovery could occur within two or three years, but says this depends on the ecosystem being given time and space to recover.
The most important priority, she said, is to avoid putting additional pressure on the forest in the coming period.
“Either through human intervention or anything else,” she said. If fires begin occurring more frequently, “at some point even the palm will not be able to withstand it and regenerate.”
IMAGES OF THE BURNED AREA AT PREVELI BEACH IN RETHYMNO (CONTRIBUTOR / EUROKINISSI)
Tourism is another concern.
“We need to think very seriously about what can be done and what will happen, for example, with tourism,” Antaloudaki said, particularly because the ecosystem is now at a highly sensitive stage.
“Any pressure, any human intervention there is a pressure,” she added.
Under normal circumstances, she expects the palms to begin regenerating within a few years.
Images of the burned area at Preveli Beach in Rethymno, Friday, July 31, 2026 (Antonis Zouridakis / Eurokinissi)
“If nothing particularly extreme happens, for example, unfortunately, another fire next year, logically we expect to see the palm begin turning green again, perhaps in two to three years,” she said, describing that timeline as relatively fast.
But the recovery of the palms alone will not mean that the entire ecosystem has been restored.
Full ecosystem recovery could take decades
Antaloudaki stressed that protecting the forest must involve the ecosystem as a whole, which has now been disrupted by the fire.
Images of the burned area at Preveli Beach in Rethymno, Friday, July 31, 2026 (Antonis Zouridakis / Eurokinissi)
“The restoration of the structure, composition and ecological functioning of an ecosystem can take many decades,” she said, noting that it could take that long for the ecosystem to return to balance.
For now, the survival of part of the palm forest and the species’ natural ability to regenerate provide grounds for optimism — but only if the ecosystem is protected from further disruption.
