Local community leaders on social resilience to environmental disasters: The case of El Niño in Lurigancho-Chosica in Perú

Abstract

This study aims to investigate how community leaders of Lurigancho-Chosica, in Lima-Perú, perceive environmental (im)mobility in their community, because of El Niño-Southern Oscillation [ENSO]. ENSO is a recurrent climate event that will likely worsen with rising world temperatures. Lurigancho-Chosica is a highly vulnerable area and one of the most affected by ENSO in the country because of landslides. Using a qualitative approach, interviews were conducted with ten community leaders as key informants from Lurigancho-Chosica to explore their perspectives on the effects of ENSO on their communities and to understand the social resilience of their communities to deal with similar disasters and changes. Findings indicate that, although knowledgeable about the impacts of ENSO, community leaders emphasized that most community inhabitants used multiple coping strategies to deal with the structural limitations of their communities to deal with ENSO. Community leaders themselves opted to strengthen the adaptive capacities of their communities to be more socially resilient, preferring community organization over migration or relocation strategies.