Assessing the role of tacit knowledge in the management of state forest reserves of Namibia

Abstract

Tacit knowledge is embedded in lived experience, cultural practice and social relations, and has long shaped forest use and stewardship in Namibia - yet it remains marginal in formal forest governance. This perspective paper examines the role and relevance of tacit knowledge in the management of Namibia’s state forest reserves, drawing on guided stakeholder discussions conducted within and around the Kanovlei, Hamoye and Zambezi State Forests as part of the Safeguarding Namibia Protected Area Network (NAM GEF-8) project. We argue that tacit knowledge, expressed through customary land-use practices, spiritual values, gendered resource use and intergenerational knowledge transfer, continues to and should underpin sustainable forest management and community well-being. We highlight how adaptive management frameworks, supportive regulatory instruments and environmental and social safeguards provide opportunities to better integrate tacit knowledge into state-led forest governance. Particular attention is given to the gendered dimensions of tacit knowledge, recognising women’s central role in transmitting ecological knowledge and sustaining cultural landscapes, alongside men’s contributions to timber use, grazing and boundary enforcement. We contend that forest conservation efforts that overlook tacit knowledge risk undermining both ecological sustainability and cultural heritage. Integrating tacit knowledge into formal management systems is therefore not only an ethical imperative but a practical strategy for strengthening co‑management, improving governance outcomes, and sustaining Namibia’s state forest reserves as living socio-ecological systems.