Disaster capitalism and the political ecology of wildfire recovery in North Evia, Greece

What the paper says

• Post-disaster planning reshapes fire-prone areas amid accelerating climate change. • Wildfires are leveraged to restructure governance, territories and rural economies. • Elite actors advance their interests at the expense of local livelihoods. • Disaster recovery promotes wildland gentrification exacerbating vulnerabilities. Amid the global proliferation of wildfires, in this article we explore post-disaster fire governance in Greece. Drawing on empirical research into the aftermath of the 2021 North Evia wildfires and engaging with scholarship on the political ecology of fires and disaster capitalism, we examine how the wildfire was framed as an opportunity for spatial restructuring. Our analysis unpacks the mechanisms through which state and non-state actors reconfigured planning and environmental governance to bypass democratic processes, undermine local environmental claims and marginalize resin cultivators, beekeepers, shepherds and farmers in favor of touristification and urban expansion. We argue that, under the guise of the climate emergency, recovery strategies not only displace rural livelihoods but also erode socio-environmental resilience, facilitating processes of wildland gentrification that reproduce and intensify vulnerabilities to climate change-induced catastrophes in fire-prone areas. Elite actors hold a key role in these processes as they attempt to capitalize upon their involvement in climate change adaptation strategies and gear recovery policy towards their interests.