Community wildlife management programmes in southern Africa typically offer residents benefits such as meat, money and jobs in the hopes of improving both conservation outcomes and local welfare. This article examines this assumption on the basis of a case study in northwest Namibia. The study suggests the importance of direct benefits in shaping support for and commitment to conservation. However, the study's analytical framework also opens up the 'black box' linking benefits to conservation and demonstrates that the link of benefits to attitudes and behaviours cannot be understood without taking into consideration three underlying factors: the appropriateness and equitability of benefits, the level of local control, and the broader context of peoples' values, their sense of identity and their development aspirations.