Greece’s environment ministry sent a draft presidential decree for a national marine park in the southern Cyclades to the Council of State on 16 October 2026. It covers over 9,000 km² of sea and the land Natura 2000 areas of 12 inhabited islands, the ministry announced.
The Council of State is Greece’s top administrative court. Once it gives its opinion, the decree can be issued. Until then, the park is a draft and not in force.
The islands are Milos, Kimolos, Folegandros, Sikinos, Santorini, Anafi, Amorgos, Iraklia, Schinousa, Koufonisi, Kinaros and Levitha. In all, the park takes in 73 islands and islets, over 250 km² of land and the South Aegean waters around them. The ministry says 8,407.14 km² of sea will be protected for the first time. The draft sets 196 protection zones, each with its own permitted uses.
At sea, the draft bans trawling, with compensation for fishers, and bans fishing within 0.5 nautical miles of the coast from 15 April to 31 May. Anchoring over seagrass meadows and reefs would be restricted step by step. On land, the ministry says farming, beekeeping and small-scale fishing will continue, and dry-stone walls, terraces and cisterns will be kept.
What it means for buyers
The announcement does not set building rules on land inside the park. It says a later management plan will set the detailed measures. Buyers looking at plots on these islands, especially outside town plans, should ask their lawyer and engineer whether the land falls in a Natura 2000 area and, once the maps are published, in which of the 196 zones. Rules on anchoring may also matter to buyers of coastal homes who plan to keep a boat. Buyers should confirm how this applies to them with a Greek lawyer or accountant.
What happens next
After the decree, the ministry will draw up the management plan. The ministry says a second national marine park, in the Ionian, will follow. For another set of rules that affects island and village plots, see our report on the new settlement boundaries platform.
