Current and historical livestock movement patterns are explored in a semi-arid communal environment in central-north Namibia, placed in context of increasing population, large-scale enclosures, increased water supply and changing vegetation. Farmer's knowledge of movements, rangeland potential, vegetation condition and plant indicators was gathered and analysed with various methods such as Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA). Local rangeland units were mapped with Landsat TM imagery and analysed with a Geographical Information System (GIS). The data suggest that good grazing was previously maintained by low herbivore pressure and frequent fires in a management regime controlled by hunter-gatherers and limited permanent water supply. Keywords: livestock movements, indigenous knowledge, rangeland condition, canonical correspondence, analysis, migration, Namibia.