Peru prepares adaptive social protection for El Niño climate event

The Peruvian government is preparing its social protection systems to manage the impacts of El Niño, a climate pattern that brings heavy rains to the northern coast and droughts to the southern highlands.

While the country has faced major economic damage from previous El Niño events, officials have already established a framework of over 60 adapted public services to identify and assist vulnerable populations. Legislative Decree 1654 and related regulations created this adaptive architecture.

Additionally, the government recently established a path to activate economic deliveries for large-scale emergencies, a function now included in the Pensión 65 program. The author argues that the primary challenge is not creating new laws but ensuring the existing system functions across different levels of government. A major bottleneck exists because a new national government is currently installing staff while regional and municipal authorities will transition on January 1, 2027.

This transition coincides with a period when the climate event could reach a critical stage. To prevent a lapse in aid, the author suggests that each sector should appoint high-level officials responsible for specific regions to coordinate services. These officials must know which populations to protect and which resources are available.

The author also recommends involving newly elected authorities early in the coordination process and creating a public dashboard to track how many people receive aid and which resources are deployed.