During the World Water Week held in Stockholm from 1 to 6 September 2013, ESCWA and the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) launched the Inventory of Shared Water Resources in Western Asia, the first effort led by the United Nations to comprehensively identify and assess the state of transboundary surface and groundwater resources in the Middle East.

Despite progress on a number of human development indicators in ESCWA countries in recent decades, inequality, vulnerability and social exclusion have not decreased and the link between economic growth and social development remains weak. In many ESCWA countries, certain social groups such as persons with disabilities, informal workers and the poor often lack adequate protection and remain highly vulnerable, especially in times of conflict and crises.

On the occasion of the 2016 World Day to Combat Desertification, ESCWA organized the web conference to highlight this challenge for the Arab region. 

On 15 November 2016, ESCWA took part in a joint United Nations regional commissions roundtable held on the sidelines of the twenty-second session of the annual Conference of the Parties (COP 22), the supreme decision-making body of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change taking place in Marrakech, Morocco between 7 and 18 November 2016.