A framework for development along the Wild Coast is being dealt with by the Wilderness Foundation and the Worldwide Fund for Nature, Wilderness Foundation executive director Andrew Muir said.

Key to the development along the Wild Coast would be a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) covering the whole area.

"This would cover things like land use and sensitivity."

He said that nothing like this had been done before in the area and it was very necessary if a holistic development strategy was to be formulated.

The SEA process started last year in August and should be completed by May.

"Without it no real planning can be done and it will give a good indication of what can be done in the region as far as options for livelihood and conservation are concerned."

Muir added that the area was very different from any other region in South Africa and its future would require "a lot of thinking outside the box".

One of the difficulties was the fact that so much of the area was tribal land which required creative and innovative solutions for development.

"Once we have the SEA we can formulate informed policy on roads, agriculture, tourism and what forms of development and conservation can take place," Muir said.

He lauded the priority the government had given to a strategic development plan for the region and said there seemed to be more commitment to the development of the region than there had been in the past.