A spatial framework for environmental management and development is not a new idea; there have been numerous experiments since the 1930s, including the seminal work of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Most developed and developing countries have regional development planning and management bodies. Regional improvement, integration of conservation and other land uses, co-ordination of complex environmental issues that demand comprehensive or integrated planning and management, coping with problems of marginality, regional problem-solving, addressing unusual ecosystems development – all have attracted a regional approach (Friedmann and Weaver, 1979; Sale, 1985; Welford, 1996b; Brunckhorst, 2000). Some of the roots of ecodevelopment and later sustainable development lie in environmentally aware regional planning.