The devolution of natural resource management to local community groups is a dominant theme in contemporary discussion of common property natural resource management. Throughout much of Africa and other parts of the developing world Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) programs are being implemented. Though governments in Africa and other parts of the developing world embrace the idea of CBNRM, the actual process of devolution of natural resource management to local community groups is problematic. In some countries, like Zimbabwe for instance, the central government devolved natural resource management to district councils which are themselves arms of the central government operating at the district level. In Botswana, the central government issues usufruct rights to local community groups and retain ownership of natural resources. These usufruct arrangements are often susceptible to cancellation and therefore do not provide sufficient incentives for local community groups to invest in long-term sustainability objectives. My study utilizes the advocacy coalition framework and social capital theories to understand how local community groups could through coalitions and networks with other local, national and international CBNRM stakeholders influence government CBNRM policy towards approaches favoring devolution and participation as opposed to centralization and regulation.