**2.1. Traditional ethnobotanical/ecological knowledge**

There is a general consensus in the arena of NRM that traditional ethnobotanical/ecological knowledge of indigenous communities can positively influence sustainable land management (SLM) practices [14–17]. Further, TEK can widen the manner in which environmental challenges are conceptualized and addressed by communities, hence enhancing a socioecological system's resilience [18].

TEK has received much attention from several researchers, hence the myriad of definitions. Raymond et al. defined TEK as "a subset of indigenous knowledge that includes knowledge and beliefs handed down through generations by cultural transmission and which is related to human environment interactions" [19]. Fernandez-Gimenez describes TEK as "a system of experiential knowledge gained by continual observation, and transmitted among members of a community" [20]. In this study, we use a definition from [16]: "a cumulative body of knowledge, practice, and belief, evolving by adaptive processes and handed down through generations by cultural transmission, about relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and with their environment."

TEK is an important component of a number of concepts within community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) realm and related concepts, including resilience, community participation and stakeholder collaboration [16, 21, 22]. Sustainable land management more often than not requires sufficient collection, retention and transmission of knowledge gained through years of interacting with a landscape [23]. TEK transmission is the transfer of traditional knowledge between individuals of a particular indigenous group. The primary modes of transmission are dynamic, varying with place and across time, though it commonly occurs through direct interaction with one's environment [24, 25]. TEK is also often conferred during normal social interaction and by oral transmission through storytelling [16, 26].

Loss of TEK has been attributed in part to Western influences including formal education, medicine, political systems, religion and technology [12, 27–29]. These factors have been corroborated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2006, which presented a list of 23 barriers to traditional knowledge in Africa, including loss of or dramatic change to ecosystems, poverty, climate change, emigrations, schools, urbanization, among others [26].
