Bush encroachment remains a major agricultural problem in Namibia, covering about 45 million hectares of the country's savannas, and reducing livestock productivity significantly. At the same time, this woody resource offers opportunities for commercial utilisation. Growing interest in the opportunities for value-addition from bush, with support such as the MAWF/GIZ De-bushing Project, raises the issue of significant negative environmental impacts from a 'de-bushing boom'. This Strategic Environmental Assessment was commissioned by GIZ to address such impacts, and to help ensure that environmental concerns are integrated in the decision-making process. Specifically, the work involved developing a Generic Environmental Management Plan that could facilitate the process of permitting and Environmental Clearances for all bush utilisation projects.