One of the main symptoms of land degradation in Namibia is woody plant encroachment, known as bush encroachment. Ca. 45 million hectares are affected, reducing livestock carrying capacity in both freehold and communal areas. However, this situation presents an opportunity to use bush biomass for charcoal production or animal feed. It is essential to grasp how these changes evolved, identify the root causes, and develop suitable responses for each land tenure system.