JOHANNESBURG - The upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), also known as Rio + 20, is a much needed platform to address the emerging challenges, South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Edina Molewa said here on Monday.

"As we look forward to Rio +20 this month, it is encouraging to note how environment and sustainable development issues have risen in prominence on the international agenda, which is an acknowledgement of the central importance of these to the long- term prosperity of the global population," the minister said at a news briefing on the eve of the UCSD scheduled for June 22-24.

The Rio+20 Conference is aimed at securing renewed political commitment to sustainable development, assessing the progress and implementation gaps in meeting already agreed commitments, as well as addressing new and emerging challenges under the themes; "a green economy within the context of sustainable development and poverty reduction" and "institutional framework for sustainable development."

The conference comes at the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and the 10th anniversary of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) which was held in Johannesburg.

"Indeed, there are lessons to be learned from the vast range of experiences garnered over the past 20 years, particularly with respect to sustainable consumption and production," Molewa said.

She pointed to concerns for capacity of the Earth's resources to sustain the current unsustainable production and consumption patterns grow, saying the global efforts to reshape the sustainable development architecture to better respond to this challenge are becoming increasingly urgent.

"This is compounded by the emerging multiple financial and economic challenges which still require resolution," she noted.

Faced with the real threat of climate change impacts, sustainable development has become more significant today than ever before, Molewa said.

She said South Africa recently released the National Strategy on Sustainable Development (NSSD), which sets out the country's sustainable development priorities and actions over the next five years.

This Strategy is based on the premise that social and economic sustainability is embedded within and reliant upon a healthy ecosystem and sustainable environmental goods and services, according to the minister.

"Our strategic objective is to ensure that sustainable development remains central in our planning and execution," she said.

The NSSD is one of a number of growth and development policies and strategies recently adopted by South Africa to support its sustainable development journey. It is accompanied by strategies such as the New Growth Path and the Green Economy Strategy.