On Greece's Lesbos, new migrant camp sparks wildfire fears

• EU-funded camp being built in forest on Lesbos
• Opponents say site at risk of fire
• Lawsuits filed to halt construction

LONDON/MADRID - The pristine pine forest of Vastria on the Greek island of Lesbos is known for its size and beauty, but it has attracted harsher attention more recently as the planned site of a European Union-funded migration centre that islanders say increases the risk of wildfires.

About 24 hectares (59 acres) of forest area have been cleared for prefabricated containers that will house around 5,000 asylum seekers, with barbed-wire fencing and high-tech surveillance surrounding the camp.

Over the past decade, hundreds of thousands of migrants have used Lesbos as an entry point to Europe, and the Greek government says it needs a new, high-security facility to better manage migration on the Aegean island.

The Closed Controlled Access Centre, at a cost of about 76 million euros ($85.5 million), looks like a "detention centre" and a "prison in the middle of the forest", said Michalis Bakas, an environmental expert and leader of Lesbos' Green Party.

A 45-minute drive from Lesbos' capital Mytilene and the nearest hospital, the Vastria camp is surrounded by trees prone to wildfires, next to a landfill and a protected Natura 2000 reserve full of endangered species.

It is so remote, locals say, that it will be difficult for emergency services to get there.

"This is a trend across Europe to build camps out of sight and out of mind, where refugees don't have a chance to build a life," said Lorraine Leete, coordinator of the Legal Centre Lesvos, which provides migrants with free legal assistance.

A local forestry expert, who asked to remain anonymous for contractual reasons, said that the pine forest grows on or near volcanic rock, which "is the most flammable type of ecosystem in the Mediterranean".

Normally, these forests take three to four decades to recover from fires, but with increasingly frequent heatwaves and droughts due to climate change, it is unclear how this ecosystem will cope with the disruption caused by the camp.

Another reason locals fear fires is because the Moria migrant camp on Lesbos was shut after a deadly blaze in 2020.

Moria was Europe's biggest migrant camp, a sprawling and overcrowded town of tents and improvised shelters, notorious for its poor and often dangerous living conditions.

The new camp is in a zone designated as "high risk" by the European Forest Fire Information System, according to the Legal Centre Lesvos.

"(Vastria) is the only forest remaining in Lesbos," said Liza Papadimitriou, advocacy manager for Lesvos Solidarity, a non-governmental organisation supporting refugees since 2012. "It will impact future generations for years if burned down."

Citing fire department figures, Papadrimitiou said Moria recorded 247 fires from January 2013 to September 2020.

Leete noted there is evidence that "fires always happen in refugee camps due to poor conditions, no safe cooking and electrical shortages."

Migration hotspot

Greece has long been a favoured gateway to Europe for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In 2015, nearly 1 million people landed on its islands, half of them on Lesbos.

Since then, the number of arrivals has fallen on Lesbos but is at the highest level since 2019 across Greece, with around 54,000 people arriving by sea in 2024.

The Vastria camp is part of the European Commission's wider scheme to modernise migration management through the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which comes into effect in 2026. It and similar centres on other Greek islands are funded by the European Commission's Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and with emergency assistance monies.

When plans for the camp were unveiled in 2020, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised to "bring decent conditions to migrants and refugees who arrive, as well as supporting the communities on the Greek islands."

Authorities in Greece have since been under pressure to deliver the facility, but construction has repeatedly halted due to lawsuits from authorities from the island and neighbouring communities.

Papadimitriou said the Greek government had not consulted island authorities properly.

"It shows complete disregard for the public interest," she said.

An EU spokesperson said that Greece's migration ministry chose a site on Lesbos after meeting with local representatives.

"Greek authorities are responsible for setting up the necessary infrastructure and meeting all legal, safety and security requirements, including fire protection. They also need to secure all building and environmental permits and comply with all relevant laws," the spokesperson said, requesting to be unnamed.

The spokesperson said the Commission provided 155 million euros for centres on Lesbos and the island of Chios.

Greece's Ministry of Migration and Asylum did not respond to a request for comment.

In 2023, its then minister, Dimitris Kairidis, said: "We want European solutions, we want European cooperation, and that is Vastria."

Rare flora and fauna

Opponents of the camp say a mandatory environmental impact assessment was only conducted by authorities after building had begun, raising concerns over procedural violations and a disregard for the site's wildfire risks.

The centre is almost finished, but the Greek Council of State, the country's highest administrative court, is set to rule on a case brought by islanders and others against the construction.

An environmental impact assessment in 2022 conducted for a legal appeal by the Mytilene municipality found "the licensing and execution of the project was carried out in violation of the applicable legislation."

The report, which was shared with Context, also said the centre was being built near an EU-protected site for migratory birds, such as the black vulture, that is also home to the rare Krüper's nuthatch.

Christos Tsivgoulis, the deputy mayor for environment at the Mytilene municipality, said the migration ministry was "downplaying the potential impacts on the forest ecosystem" and that a special assessment required for EU-protected areas was never conducted.

"The government's handling of the issue so far has been marked by consistent unreliability," he said.

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(Reporting by Alexander Durie and Goldy Levy; editing by Clar Ni Chonghaile and Ayla Jean Yackley.)