The marula tree is a drought-resistant tree that is widely distributed in sub-Saharan tropical Africa. The sub-species S. birrea ssp. caffra is indigenous to southern Africa. In Namibia it is mainly found in the northern parts of the country. The multipurpose marula tree has a long history of traditional use, especially in North-central Namibia. Here, the importance of marula stretches from the social, to the cultural, the economical, and the nutritional aspects of people’s lives, and its value makes a significant contribution to local livelihoods. The North-central regions (NCRs) of Namibia –the Ohangwena, Oshana, Omusati, and Oshikoto Regions- are by far the most important marula producing areas in the country, both with regard to the resource availability and the traditional use. Marula is however not equally distributed in these regions. It tends to be clustered in slightly higher-lying areas where it is not flooded by rising water levels in the oshanas or impeded by hardpans in the soil, but does not do very well in the highest areas or other places where the soil is too saline and dry. The resource is particularly abundant in the Cuvelai drainage system, an inland delta which is dry for most of the year, but is fed by rains falling locally and in Angola during the summer months. The elevated strips of land between the waterways have the best soils and it is here where marula thrives. In addition, because of its better soils, the Cuvelai delta is more densely populated, and from previous work on marula in the NCRs it is known that there is a strong positive correlation between human settlements and the distribution of the marula resource.