ABSTRACT
Adaptation of community forestry to climate change is shaped by multifaceted relationships between forests and people, mediated by social, political, and ecological dynamics. To analyze adaptation practices and prospects, a systems approach was adopted to unpack such complex and multifaceted forests-people relationships. Examples of how different community forestry user groups are impacted by and adapting to climate change in different contexts are presented. Several themes to understand the interlinkages have been covered, such as differentiated vulnerability of people and forests, changing forests-people relationships, changing roles of community forestry user groups as local institutions in a changing context, mismatch in adaptation pertaining to restrictive regulations, unclear policy direction, and bureaucratic hurdles. The chapter concludes that it is important to identify barriers to the autonomous adaptation of community forestry in different contexts and complement the autonomous efforts with tailored support mechanisms that can strengthen the resilience of both the forest ecosystem and the communities that rely on them.
