August is a slow month in DC, but not so on New Security Beat: 8 of the top 10 last month (measured by unique pageviews) were new posts. Laurie Mazur’s discussion of inequality, population, and sustainability took the top spot followed by a look at what’s new in the Population Reference Bureau’s latest data sheet; Kate Diamond’s feature on Mongolia’s climate and development challenges; a discussion on the naming of the Failed States Index; a summary of the National Intelligence Council’s extensive series on aging; and two reactions to Iran’s surprising shift on family planning.

We live in an era when the pace and scope of global change – including forces such as population growth, resource scarcity, urbanization, migration, and economic development – increasingly impact all of us as individuals, from our health and security to our environment and economic well-being. This complex web of the global and local has led the Wilson Center to create a new initiative focusing on global sustainability and resilience.

Following on the news that long-time ECSP Director Geoff Dabelko is moving on to a well-deserved post directing environmental studies at Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, I am thrilled to announce that I will direct a new Wilson Center initiative on global sustainability and resilience, which will combine the ongoing efforts of the Environmental Change and Security Program, Global Health Initiative, China Environment Forum, and Comparative Urban Studies Project. This new initiative will integrate and build upon their already substantial contributions to the field.

I have a bit of news to share. After 15 years at the Wilson Center, I will be moving back to my home town of Athens, Ohio, next week. This fall I will become a professor at Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, where I will serve as director of environmental studies and work in their campus-wide Consortium on Energy, Economics, and the Environment.

I am very pleased that I will continue working as a senior advisor to the Environmental Change and Security Program, as both the university and the Wilson Center are eager for me to stay connected on current projects and foster new collaborations. This new role will certainly evolve over time and I look forward to continuing to work with all of you from this different perch.

ECSP is seeking two Program Assistants to support event planning and outreach/communications on environmental, population, health, security, and development issues. Come help bring together scholars, policymakers, the media, and practitioners through events, research, publications, multimedia content, and our award-winning blog, New Security Beat.

Kate Diamond’s look at Mongolia’s nexus of climate, development, and extractive industry issues ran away with the top spot last month (measured by unique pageviews) and was joined by a host of newcomers. We updated you on Afghanistan’s mineral potential and continuing maternal health issues; reviewed CAP’s climate-migration report, CCAPS’s climate-conflict mapping tool, and David Bonnardeaux’s treatise on integrated development in Africa; and examined some of USAID’s recent open data initiatives and what they might signal for the agency moving forward.

With the focus on sustainable development last month, Rio+20 coverage and related-population, health, and environment stories crept into the top posts (measured by unique pageviews). Carl Haub of Population Reference Bureau made a surprise appearance too with his update on the Democratic Republic of Congo’s latest demographic and health survey coming in at number three. To read ECSP’s full coverage of the 20th anniversary of the UN Earth Summit, see a full line-up of posts from Sandeep Bathala and our partners here.

Laurie Mazur, Elizabeth Leahy Madsen, Tim Hanstad, and Musimbi Kanyoro topped the list last month. Integrated looks at development and security issues were popular in general, with looks at hotspots like Nigeria, Uganda, Yemen, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and India, and topics like land and water security all represented in the top 10.

Interest in the environment and conflict nexus is high: Posts on the Journal of Peace Research’s climate and conflict special issue; special profiles on India’s and Uganda’s environment, development, and security challenges; and March’s global water intelligence assessment all made the top 10 last month (measured by unique pageviews). The remaining newcomers hit on demography and gender issues, with a guest contribution on Rio+20 from the President of the Global Fund for Women, Musimbi Kanyoro, and a re-examination of Yemen’s prospects after the Arab Spring by Elizabeth Leahy Madsen.