Indigenous peoples’ forest management practices for climate change adaptation: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Indigenous Peoples manage extensive forest landscapes worldwide and possess long-standing knowledge systems that are increasingly recognised as important for climate change adaptation. However, evidence regarding how Indigenous forest management contributes to adaptation outcomes remains fragmented across regions, ecosystems, and disciplinary perspectives. This study aims to systematically synthesise global evidence on Indigenous and community-based forest management practices for climate change adaptation. Following the PRISMA 2020 framework, 59 peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2025 were systematically reviewed and analysed using thematic synthesis. The findings identify four dominant forest management strategies: Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and seasonal practices, community-based forest management, Indigenous fire management and controlled burning, and agroforestry and sustainable harvesting systems. These practices contribute to four key adaptation outcomes: enhanced ecosystem resilience, reduced climate-related risks, improved livelihood sustainability, and biodiversity conservation. The review further demonstrates that Indigenous forest management functions as an integrated socio-ecological adaptation system in which adaptive capacity emerges through interactions among ecological processes, cultural values, customary institutions, and governance arrangements. The effectiveness of these systems is influenced by ecological thresholds, continuity of knowledge transmission, secure land tenure, and recognition of Indigenous governance authority. While collaboration between Indigenous knowledge systems and scientific or policy frameworks can strengthen adaptation outcomes through co-production and shared decision-making, ineffective or tokenistic integration may undermine Indigenous institutions and adaptive capacity. Overall, the review highlights Indigenous forest management as a place-based, relational, and multi-scalar approach to climate adaptation. Strengthening Indigenous rights, supporting governance autonomy, and promoting equitable knowledge integration are essential for advancing effective, just, and sustainable forest-based climate adaptation in an era of accelerating environmental change.