Conservation groups all over the world are increasingly using mapping technologies in the devolution of environmental management. These technologies include Geographic Information Systems (GIS). There has been a shift towards local participation in natural resource management. Participatory mapping, and the use of GIS, is seen as a logical step for capacity building and empowerment. It is also an instrument to assist environmental monitoring and management. This article examines the emergence of mapping and GIS as a central community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) tool in Namibia's community conservation programme. Here, the use of GIS in CBNRM has evolved in response to community, NGO, and government needs.