where appropriate, con~~:t,3nt international organlzetions, immediately take all practicable measures necessitated by the circumstances to prevent, mitigate and eliminate harmful r\ffects of the emergency. 4. When necessary, watercourse States shall jointly develop contingency plans for responding to smergencies in co-operat,ion, where appropriate, with other potentially affected St.ates and competsnt. internat.ional organixations. */-. This ?arsyraph which deals with the definition of emergency m;\y he moved up to 3fticllt 1 on [Use of terms]. - 146 -2, TbxLtLAzxbraiIt~-~27_wifhcommenta~)e PART I:? PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION Ali-k.ai&ka Qf ecosvatems Watercourse States ehall, individually or jointly, protect and preserve the ecosystems cf international watercouree[s] [systems]. (lommenta.sY (1) Article 31 introduces Part IV of ths draft articles by laying down a general obligation to protect and preserve the ecosystems of J*tarnational “watercourss[s ] [systems 1”.m/ The article is based on paragraph 1 of article 17 [18] proposed in the Fourth report 00 the Special Rapporteur (A/CN.4/412/Add.2). In view of the general nature of tha obligation contained in this article, the Commissfan was of the view that it should precede the other more spec!trc attil:les in Part IV. (2) Like article 192 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, W/ article 22 contains obligations of both protection and preservation. These ohligationR relate to the “ecosy3tems of international watercourse[s] (systemsJ’~, an expression utilited by the Commission because it is more precise than the concept cf the “environment” of a watercourse. The latter term could be interpreted quite broadly, to apply to areas “surrounding” the watercourse [system] that have minimal heating on tha protection and preservation of the watercourse (system] itself. Furthormore, the term “environment” of a watercourse might be construed to refer only 14.11 As in the case of t other articles adopted so far by the
**Analysis**
The text discusses the protection and preservation of ecosystems and international watercourses, which suggests a strong connection to the natural environment. The language used, such as "ecosystems", "watercourse", and "mitigate and eliminate harmful effects", implies a focus on environmental conservation and management. Additionally, the article appears to be related to international cooperation and agreements, which is a common theme in the field of environmental protection.

**Category**
Natural resources and environment, International trade