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Turkey is expected to experience significant climate change, including increased temperatures and desertification. As these changes affect forestry, agriculture and animal husbandry, they threaten the livelihoods of forest communities across the country. In addition, other, institutional factors such as the property regime can act in tandem with physical stressors to increase communities’ overall vulnerability to climate change. This article focuses on how the current structure of Turkish forest property rights, in determining access to forest resources that communities depend on for building resilience in marginal environments, influences communities’ adaption strategies and shapes their vulnerability to climate change. Through an analysis of how forest communities in the Seyhan River Basin gain access to state-owned forest resources, this article shows that without secure access to these resources, forest communities in the Basin are made more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
