Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Aug 20:415:137880.
doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137880. Epub 2023 Jun 22.

Exploring resilience in public services within marginalised communities during COVID-19: The case of coal mining regions in Colombia

Gabriel Weber  1 , Ignazio Cabras  1   2 , Ana Maria Peredo  3 , Paola Yanguas-Parra  4 , Karla Simone Prime  2
Affiliations

Exploring resilience in public services within marginalised communities during COVID-19: The case of coal mining regions in Colombia

Gabriel Weber et al. J Clean Prod. .

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of COVID-19 on marginalised communities and its effects on the provision of public services. Focusing on two coal mining regions in Colombia during the pandemic crisis, and examining Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, we analyze the provision of public services at a local level, identifying both shortcomings and resilience. Findings show that the lack of resilient public services amplified the effects of COVID-19 and its containment measures, exacerbating existing structural inequalities within local marginalised communities. It also reinforced the control exercised by coal mining companies within local economies. However, the substantial lack of public service provision also provided space for the development and strengthening of several resilience strategies among local communities, such as solidarity networks and schemes and the revitalization of local environmental knowledge. The study identifies multiple shortcomings in how the national and local administrations handled the COVID-19 outbreak and highlights the potential of enhancing resilience in public services to support marginalised communities in times of crisis.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coal mining regions; Colombia; Marginalised communities; Public services; Resilience.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Areas and sites considered for this study Source: Author's adaptation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Acevedo-Duque Á., Gonzalez-Diaz R., Vargas E.C., Paz-Marcano A., Muller-Pérez S., Salazar-Sepúlveda G., D'Adamo I. Resilience, leadership and female entrepreneurship within the context of SME: evidence from Latin America. Sustainability. 2021;13(15) doi: 10.3390/su13158129. - DOI
    1. Arndt C., Davies R., Gabriel S., Harris L., Makrelov K., Robinson S., Levy S., Simbanegavi W., van Seventer D., Anderson L. Covid-19 lockdowns, income distribution, and food security: an analysis for South Africa. Glob. Food Secur. 2020;26 doi: 10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100410. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bank World. World bank approves a US$500 million loan for resilient, sustainable infrastructure in Colombia. Press release, 30 september. 2020. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2020/09/30/colombia-reci...
    1. Banks E. We are Bruno: citizens caught between an absentee state and a state-like corporation during water conflicts in La Guajira, Colombia. Urban Anthropol. Stud. Cult. Syst. World Econ. Dev. 2017;46(1/2):61–94.
    1. Berkes F., Ross H. Community resilience: toward an integrated approach. Soc. Nat. Resour. 2013;26(1):5–20.

LinkOut - more resources