Namibia is the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa (country-wide average rainfall <250 mm per year, range 0--700 mm). It has a small but fast growing human population (1.6 Million people, average density 1.7 people/km-, growth rate 3.1%), highly skewed distribution of land and wealth (0.3% of the population owns 44% of the land area, and 5% earns about 70% of the income), an open access rangeland system in communal areas covering 41% of the land. and a population highly dependent on the exploitation of natural resources. Namibia has experienced significant environmental degradation of ist rangeland and is increasingly vulnerable to escalating degradation in the future. Evidence of degradation and declining productivity in Namibia's arid and semi-arid rangelands includes deforestation, bush encroachment, loss of biological diversity, soil erosion and declining groundwater Levels.