The User’s Manual is a companion to the Sourcebook – Laws and Regulations in the Coastal Zone. The Sourcebook contains transcripts of laws and regulations relevant to coastal zone management, while the present User’s Manual discusses these laws.

The primary purpose of the User’s Manual is to provide information to ordinary people about the laws and regulations in the coastal zone such that all the stakeholders may have access to information about laws and regulations that affect them.

The manual is divided into three parts: Part 1- Laws establishing Government Structure explains laws and sub-decrees that create the different state institutions and delegate them jurisdiction over a particular sector; Part 2 – Subject Matter Laws explains laws and regulations that deal with particular subjects or sectors related to the coastal zone; and Part 3 – Memos is a series of memos that explain some issues related generally to the laws, how they relate to each other, some problems in the laws, and suggestions about working with those problems.