In reviewing my book, Environmental Democracy (THES, March 31), Fred Pearce claims that my discussion of human rights violations in Karen State, Burma relies exclusively on a single newspaper source.
Either he is unaware of the conventions of the Harvard referencing system or did not bother to read both the relevant sections in the book.
Aside from pertinent academic citations, there are clear references to field reports compiled by three separate human rights organisations and the US government. The Burmese work of the US conservation organisations mentioned can be accessed on their websites, while the Burmese government did not reply to my inquiries. Given the nature of the Burmese regime, I hope I can be forgiven for choosing not to travel there to verify or falsify at first hand the allegations of human rights abuses.
Michael Mason. University of North London.