Catchment management in the developed world is undergoing afundamental reconfiguration in which top-down governance is beingchallenged by local organisations promoting collaborative decision-making.Local, participation-based organisations are emerging as mediators ofrelations between governments and publics. These organisations, what arehere defined as participatory catchment organisations (PCO), are emergentat a time when developed world catchment management is itselfundergoing substantial change. Through in-depth engagement with fourPCOs, and using six case studies, we identify the principles associated withsuccessful problem resolution. The findings illustrate the importance ofPCOs as two-way bridges between publics and governments. We identifythree principles shared by these organisations that show how, throughparticipatory approaches founded on trust, complicated problems can beresolved in ways that do not unduly punish groups or individuals. Inconclusion, we identify four questions that highlight the need to considerthe practicality of evolving relations amongst governments, publics, andthe organisations that have come to mediate catchment management
