diff --git a/plio/io/__init__.py b/plio/io/__init__.py
index d44b96d6761745c2b876a3b5d2ea6c35a27622cb..7c0f093a632bf35ac26b4a177185132733ec5727 100644
--- a/plio/io/__init__.py
+++ b/plio/io/__init__.py
@@ -13,7 +13,11 @@ try:
     osr = osr.loader.load_module()
     gdal.UseExceptions() 
 except:
-    gdal = None
+    try:
+        gdal = importlib.util.find_spec('osgeo.gdal')
+        gdal = gdal.loader.load_module()
+    except:
+        gdal = None
     ogr = None
     osr = None