Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs) have been an important attempt to answer the problems associated with game reserves and wildlife conservation in rural Africa. ICDPs promise local community participation in natural resource management and biodiversity preservation on one hand and reduction of rural poverty on the other. This article looks at the literature on Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) in Namibia. It looks at how CBNRM has been conceived as a way to deal with problems of poverty biodiversity preservation and more importantly as a driver of rural development. It notes the various criticisms levelled at ICDP inspired programmes such as CBNRM and how Namibia has dealt with them. More specifically it asks the following questions: How has CBNRM operated and fared? What problems have CBNRM faced? To what extent has the formation of conservancies enabled rural communities to gain a voice and decision-making power, diversify their income; and create adequate institutions, skills and capacity for themselves? The aim of this article is to see to what extent some of these criticisms of ICDP hold for Namibia’s CBNRM and conservancies in particular. This article is largely conceptual in nature as it examines research material and literature that relates the operation of conservancies in Namibia.