BRUSSELS, Oct 9 : Wealthy nations should make good their commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of GDP on aid to developing countries and may need to free extra funds to help them tackle global environmental threats. the European Commission (EC) said, reports Reuter.

The commission said rich nations should set a timetable for meeting their 0.7 per cent pledge at next June's UN Conference on Environment (UNCED) — the earth summit — in Rio De Janeiro.

The organisation for economic cooperation and development's assistance committee has committed its members to the 0.7 per cent.target, but few have met it and most arc well below.

"At UNCED. industrialised countries should agree on a timetable for the fulfilment of their commitment, .the commission said in a strategy pa-

per recommending the position the 12-natfon community should take al Ihe conference.

It said donor countries should emphasise that such aid

had lo be used for projects and programmes Ihal contributed lo sustainable, or environmentally benign, development.

Most assessments agreed that poverty, together with population growth and rapid urbanisation, was among the major reasons for the emergence of environmentally un-suslalnablc patterns of development in third world countries. It said. ,. . .

The commission added that new and additional funding on top of the 0.7 per cent of GDP may be needed lo support developing countries' efforts lo achieve sustainable use of Ihcir natural resources and tackle global environmental problems.

As well as direct aid, the commission urged further debt servicing relief to enable third world and eastern and central European countries to spend more of their own funds on environmental protection.