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FOOD, LAND AND FUEL
interview
with
Richard David Hames
ABOUT
Richard David Hames
Richard David Hames (RDH) is a corporate philosopher, author and knowledge designer, focusing on projects ranging across all sectors of the community, business and government, focusing particularly on designing a number of emerging economics philosophy.
He is widely considered to be among the world’s most influential intellectuals and strategic futurists. Richard is Founder and Honorary President of The Hames Group (a globally distributed think-tank and strategic design laboratory); Director of Thoughtpost Edge; and Distinguished Professor and founding Director of the Asian Foresight Institute at Dhurakij Pundit University in Bangkok. Besides this, Richard is best known for pioneering deep design- a groundbreaking approach to whole system change based on the integral nature of complexity science and living systems.
Moreover, Richard is a compelling public speaker and celebrated writer of the best-selling book, The Management Myth: Exploring the Essence of Future Organizations. Richard’s latest book in 2008, Entangled Freedom – The Art and Practice of Strategic Navigation, is a practical guide for organizations wishing to implement a ‘real-time Intelligence’ approach to strategic management.
Find more about Richard David Hames please visit www.richardhames.com.
By Dr. Pun-Arj Chairatana, Managing Director – Noviscape Consulting Group
Q: Richard, you’ve been described as “a corporate philosopher and knowledge designer”. Can you explain these terms in a broad sense?
“The terms ‘corporate philosopher’ and ‘knowledge designer’ both about asking the question that is not being asked and should not be being asked about issue and times and finding the way to legitimize the asking of question because such question are uncomfortable. Knowledge design is really using all the real-time strategic intelligence to achieve those uncomfortable questions and responding more appropriately with more wisdom in the way that benefit to mankind.”
Q: How do you perceive the future of food in this region and the world?
“We need to recalibrate how much food is necessary to feed how many people. Today, the expansion of population is huge, and the food demand is huge. However, food is being produced in the wrong places for the wrong people at the wrong costs. In the Southeast Asia region, we will need to move away from traditional practices and move to practices that are more energy-efficient, and and a greater emphasis on localization of production and consumption.”
Q: What will be the most pressing sources of resource conflicts by 2050?
“Water is already a scarce resource and so much is being wasted. We urgently need to take stock of how we are wasting water and rationalize its use. With the continuing exodus from rural areas to cities and to other countries, in search for a better life, by 2050 around 200 million climate migrants will be moving around the world in search for water and lower-cost food. This will without doubt present major geo-political implications, with potential as a future cause of conflict at all levels, from individual to nations. We therefore need to think critically and plan now how we redesign agriculture to meet future needs within our means, bearing in mind the resource constraints we will certainly face.”
“One possibility may be in improving how we use water for irrigation. We cannot avoid considering more widespread adoption of technologies such as desalination, water harvesting and recycling in order to ensure adequate supply and efficient use of the planet’s precious water resources. In fact, there are thousands of inventions and technologies already in place. We just need to apply them.”
