proviefon relating to consultations, ho noted that for some members it was going too far to provide that “watercourse States ehall enter into consul tat ions, at the request of any of them . ..“, while, for others, an obligation to negotiate was more eppropriats. He etated that his Object had been to formulate paragraph 1 of the article in such a way ao to etrike a fair balance between a eimple r8COmm8ndatiOn to enter into consultations and an obligation to ontor into “negotiations”, as had been recommended by the second Special Happorteur in his third report. 287. In reply t;o thaw membare who had questioned the value of the erticle having rugerd tu the number of watorcouroe commiowionu that nlroady existed, he pointed out., first, that many of those commissions wore very specializsd and did not I~OCBRBBI ily Gael with matluyement of the watercvulae concerned 8s a whole and, secondly, t.hot specialists involved in the Any.~tr)-dny management. of internntionnl wntarcournoo who had had occasion to express their views at regionnl tnt!c?t.ingti hold under Unit-nd NRt;ions auspices, touch BH t.he one recently hold 11) A&l 1 ri AlJitLn, he11 c!wll~~,rl for t.ho t!ot:ab1ir;~i,nt?nt. of f;uch hodiel;.288. With reference to the proposal that the obligation to aonsult should be made subject to certain conditions, the Special Rapporteur said that while he would duly consider it, he feared that introducing suah conditions could provide a means of escaping even the obligation to enter into consultations - which was already not very stringent -rendering it practically illusory. 289. The Speaial Rapporteur welcomed the quality of the drafting mendments proposed. In particular, he said that the suggestion to harmonise artiales 26 and 21 could perhaps be accomplished by adding a cross-reference in article 26 to article 21. 290. With reference to the different views erpresseo by member6 on the term
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the drafting of an article related to international watercourse law, specifically the obligation of states to consult with each other regarding the management of shared water resources. The text mentions specialized commissions, negotiations, and the need for a balance between simplicity and obligation. This suggests that the text is focused on a specific issue related to natural resources and the environment.

**Category**
Natural resources and environment