The negative impacts of climate change are already being felt around the globe, and countless communities, particularly in developing countries, are becoming increasingly vulnerable. In response to climatic risks, communities need to understand and build appropriate strategies that offer an opportunity to adapt to environmental change. Protected areas (PAs) are important tools for conserving biodiversity and ecosystems, which provide numerous services that support the livelihoods of many people. Furthermore, their importance in climate change mitigation and adaptation is increasingly acknowledged. With this in mind, the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) has developed a step-by-step manual for engaging with communities living in PAs regarding climate change and empowering local people to plan for such change. This manual provides the practical tools needed to effectively engage with communities living in, and around, PAs regarding appropriate strategies to deal with the negative impacts of climate change. It outlines a practical and pragmatic community-based resilience and adaptation planning process, offering step-by-step guidance on initiating the planning process, engaging the community in it and refining and implementing action plans.This manual is aimed at practitioners from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), government departments, PA management and research institutions with some experience in participatory work and a good understanding of climate change. The process described can be tailored to different contexts and used to work with PAs managed under different types of governance (e.g. co-management, state-run or community-governed). In addition, the detailed instructions on undertaking the community-based workshop component of the process, along with several practical annexes, are ideal for training workshop facilitators.