Replacing 10-20 percent of mangroves in coastal areas of Thailand with shrimp farms does not seriously damage the mangroves’ ability to protect against tsunamis, says an article published recently in Science. According to the authors, “reconciling competing demands on coastal habitats should not always result in stark preservation-versus-conversion choices.”

Chimpanzees and other endangered species are being threatened by a thriving bushmeat trade in Tanzanian refugee camps, says a report by the NGO Traffic. “The scale of wild meat consumption in East African refugee camps has helped conceal the failure of the international community to meet basic refugee needs,” said report lead author George Jambiya.

“Health professionals have a vital contributory role in preventing and reducing the health effects of global environmental change,” argue A. J. McMichael and colleagues in an article in the British Medical Journal (subscription required to access full text).

Muslim countries around the world should follow the example of some of Indonesia’s pesantren (religious schools) and incorporate environmental conservation into the teaching and practice of Islam, argues MIT professor and frequent Wilson Center speaker Saleem Ali, who edited Peace Parks: Conservation and Conflict Resolution.

The rising price of oil is making food more expensive and threatening the food security of the poor, reports The New York Times. “According to the F.A.O., food riots have erupted in recent months in Guinea, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, Uzbekistan and Yemen.”

“The surge in the copper price has stirred up an emotional debate in Zambia about the obligations of the government—and investors—regarding the exploitation of minerals for the long-term benefit of countries. For a country built on the back of a previous copper heyday, but which has experienced massive poverty and underdevelopment for decades, this is unsurprising,” writes Diana Games for Resource Investor.