Watershed agencies are not without their flaws, and have been criticised for embracing a top-down approach, driven by experts and lacking in transparency. In addition, the prioritisation of holistic management often typical of watershed management agencies, has resulted in conflicts of interest, in which regulatory, ownership and service provision functions overlap, sometimes with negative consequences. At the initiative of Brazil, it was later restmctured and in 2008, 67 institutions from 21 countries gathered to agree on common principles. A major feature of LAC countries as compared to OECD countries is the preponderance of conflict resolution mechanisms (75% of countries surveyed) and informal co-operation around projects.