diff --git a/plio/io/__init__.py b/plio/io/__init__.py
index b67fa436d..7baf574a6 100644
--- a/plio/io/__init__.py
+++ b/plio/io/__init__.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
     gdal = importlib.import_module('osgeo.gdal')
     osr = importlib.import_module('osgeo.osr')
     ogr = importlib.import_module('osgeo.ogr')
+    gdal.UseExceptions()
 except:
     gdal = osr = ogr = None