This is a study undertaken to ascertain the elements and trends at the local and national levels, which define therights and rules that provide the management framework for the implementation of different types of locally basedresources management systems in marine and coastal areas. The study showed that the existing institutional set-up is not only complex, confusing and "sectoralized", but more importantly, it is fragmented, thus, causing the major systemic hindrance to more effective management of the marine and coastal resources. Hence, there is a strong and urgent need for sectoral integration and coordination. Four case studies, which depict community-basedsystems of management, were presented to illustrate even more effective modes of administration of the coastalenvironment than the purely legal system though each had distinct characteristics than the others. These revealed that even in the face of inconsistency with the national legal system, community-based management could survive. However, conflict in the use of coastal and marine resources remains a characteristic in the studies. Hence, partnership among different sectors is imperative for sustainability.