The Effect of Public Management on Social Resilience in Peru in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Climate Change

Relating a disturbance (COVID-19 pandemic) whose main consequence is health and short term, with another (climate change) whose main consequence is socio-environmental and long term, is unusual; however, the effect of public management in the face of the pandemic and climate change weakened the country's social resilience. The management of the pandemic produced specific consequences, which further weakened the management of climate change, which had historical or chronic weaknesses that were also evident in the management of COVID-19. Through the seven principles of resilience proposed by researchers at the Stockholm Resilience Center, how the decisions of Peruvian authorities increased Peru’s state of vulnerability was analyzed; it was concluded that public management should provide the conditions to strengthen the organizational capacity of the population and not rely solely on models outside the national context. In this sense, optimal management of disturbances should consider an approach based on functional diversity and holistic knowledge, through a process of constant learning in the face of uncertainty and the dynamics of the socio-ecological system, involving a transdisciplinary approach through polycentric governance. This management would also involve what we call the “zero” principle of resilience.