South Africa's demand for freshwater will exceed its supply by 2025, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) warned on Tuesday.



The conservation organization called for urgent and immediate action to be taken to stave off massive social, economic and environmental damage in a statement released at the launch of the WWF Sanlam Living Water Partnership in Cape Town.



Speaking at the launch, WWF's Deon Nel, who is managing the partnership, said water was South Africa's most precious resource.



However, the dire water situation in the country did not have the prominence it should in economic and developmental planning.



"The primary policy guiding South Africa's economic development, AsgiSA, makes no mention of this key restraint to growth, or the need to carefully manage our rainfall catchments and improve the water-use efficiency of industry and agriculture," he said.



Other threats included the discharge of effluent by industry, sewage spills and chemical run-off from agriculture; the physical destruction of habitat such as wetlands; and the impact of invasive alien vegetation, which was sucking up about seven percent of the country's water supply.



Source: Xinhua