They act as a forum for aligning interests and timing across ministries and public agencies. A prominent example of a high-level structure acting as co-ordinating body is CONAGUA, the national water commission in Mexico (Box 4.1) and many LAC countries have also set up national water agencies, including Brazil, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Panama and Peru (Box 4.2). It follows previous water-related administrations such as the Direction for Water, Land and Colonization (1917), the Nation Irrigation Commission (1926), the Ministry of Water Resources (1946), and the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources (1976). This decentralised agency of SEMARNAT is the highest institution for water resource management in Mexico, including water policy, water rights, planning, irrigation and drainage development, water supply and sanitation, and emergency and disaster management (with an emphasis on flooding). The 2004 amended National Water Law (NWL) restructured CONAGUA’s key functions through the transfer of responsibilities from the central level to sub-national entities.