This paper reports the main findings of a multi-country research project designed to develop a better understanding of the performance of community-managed rural water supply systems in developing ct)untries. Data were collected from household.s, village water committees, focus groups of village resident.s, system operators and key informants in 400 rural communities in Peru, Bolivia and Ghana. Our findings suggest that the demand-driven, community management model, coupled with access to spare parts and .-iome lechnical expertise, has come a long way toward unraveling the puzzle of how best to design and implement niral water supply programs in developing countries. In all three countries, rural water supply projects were working. Among the households included in our sample in Peru and Bolivia. 95% had operational taps at the time of our field visit. In 90% of the villages in Ghana, all project handpumps were still working. Not only had the rural water systems not broken down, but almost all the households in these communities were obtaining at least some of their water tVom the systems. However, some households were also still using water from other sources. In Ghana, 38% ol' household.s still reported using water from unprotected sources (e.g. springs, river, open wells) for drinking and/or cooking. Another troublesome finding is that rural households in the sample villages are paying very little for the improved water services and. as a result, the finances of many village water committees are in poor shape. doi: lÜ.2t66/wp.2009.3t0 © Worid Bank 2009 D, Whittington et ai. / Water Policy I ¡ (2009) 696-718 697

Reciprocal relations underscore the mutual caretaking obligations held between nature and society, as intertwining entities that are co-constituted with one another. In this paper, we draw from scholarship on human-nature relations, which emphasizes the intrinsic value and agency of non-human beings and the landscape. Building on this literature, we investigate the practice of reciprocal relations for exemplar communities in Hawai'i, British Columbia (Canada), the Appalachian mountain region (U.S.), and Madagascar that are all actively cultivating stewardship of natural resources in the face of economic, political, and ecological pressures. Our cases illustrate the diverse ways individuals and communities enact reciprocal relations and examine how these acts may increase community access to land and water. We show how communities mobilize reciprocal relations through both formal governance actions (e.g. management planning and legislation) and informal avenues (e.g. daily human-environment interactions). Recognizing "reciprocal relations" to restore community access 401 Our findings expand upon Ribot and Peluso's theory of access by considering the multi-directional flows of benefits and responsibilities between people and places exemplified by reciprocal relations. By reframing environmental governance around mutual responsibilities, we hope to increase recognition of existing reciprocal place-based relationships, and facilitate greater community access to land, water, and resources.

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[1] Many rural water supply interventions in developing countries have been marked by a poor record of sustainability. Considerable progress has been made over the past several decades on the development of lower-cost technologies that are easier for communities in developing countries to maintain and also on improving project design and implementation to enhance sustainability of outcomes. Less attention has been given to the necessary and sufficient supports for water system maintenance in the postconstruction period. This study explores the contribution of various types of postconstruction support (PCS) to the sustainability of rural water supply systems in Bolivia. Using regression and matched pair statistical analyses, the effects of PCS on water system performance and user satisfaction with service are modeled. Communities that received management-oriented PCS visits from external agencies, and those whose system operators attended training workshops, had better performing systems than communities that received no such support. Engineering-oriented PCS visits to communities had no measurable impact on system functioning or user satisfaction.