"We've had a luxurious lifestyle during the last 25 years, not caring at all about the environment. It's necessary to change the way people consume, buy, eat," said British professor John Anthony Allan, winner of the 2008 Stockholm Water Prize.

The annual World Water Week, which has gathered some 2,500 experts in the Swedish capital, is focused this year on how lacking water supply impacts sanitation and hygiene.

Read more on world water week here.