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Richard Friend

Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, University of York
Richard Friend joined the Department of Environment and Geography in 2016. He has a background in social anthropology and development studies, with a PhD from the University of Bath (UK) based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork in southern Thailand. He has over twenty-five years experience working in Asia – Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India and Nepal. He speaks Thai fluently and is proficient in Lao.

The main focus of his work has been on the poverty and governance dimensions of social and environmental transformations, particularly around fisheries, water resources, urbanization and climate change. His most recent work has addressed water governance in Israel and Palestine, and issues of systemic risk - focusing on food systems in Thailand. He has a longstanding interest in scientific and indigenous knowledge and the role of engaged research in driving social change.

His professional work has involved a range of responsibilities - programme management, capacity building, and policy-oriented action research. He has worked in senior management and advisory positions for the Thailand Environment Institute (TEI), the Institute of Social and Environmental Transition, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the WorldFish Centre, and taken on consultancy roles for a range of NGOs (including Oxfam, Save the Children), UN agencies (UNDP, FAO and UNCDF) and bilateral donors (including DFID, Danida and Sida).

Global Geopolitics Series

Collaborative water management can be a building block for peace between Israelis and Palestinians

Oct 31, 2023 01:21 am UTC| Life

Water is a central element of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Israel controls several water pipelines entering Gaza, much as it controls most of life there. But water can also be a source of hope for an...

Economy

German Exports Drop 2.3% in January, Exceeding Forecast Decline

Germanys export sector started 2024 on a weak note, with outbound shipments falling 2.3% in January compared to December, according to data released Tuesday by Destatis, the federal statistics office. The...

RBA Rate Decision: Deputy Governor Signals Genuine Debate Ahead of March Meeting

The Reserve Bank of Australia is heading into its March 17 board meeting with no clear consensus on interest rates, according to Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser. Speaking to The Conversation on Tuesday, Hauser acknowledged...

Dollar Stabilizes Amid Iran War Uncertainty as Oil Prices Remain Elevated

The U.S. dollar regained its footing against major currencies on Tuesday after pulling back from recent highs, following President Donald Trumps statement that the Iran conflict could conclude very soon. Despite the...

Iran-U.S. Oil Tensions Escalate as Revolutionary Guards Threaten Strait of Hormuz Blockade

Tensions between Iran and the United States have reached a dangerous new level after Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps threatened to halt all oil shipments from the Middle East if American and Israeli military...

U.S. Solar Market Contracts in 2025 as Trump Rolls Back Renewable Energy Incentives

The United States solar industry experienced a notable slowdown in 2025, with new installations falling to 43 gigawatts a significant drop from the nearly 50 GW recorded in 2024. A joint report by the Solar Energy...

Politics

Russian Drone Strikes Hit Kharkiv and Dnipro, Injuring Over 20 Civilians

Russian drone attacks targeted two major Ukrainian cities late Monday and into the early hours of Tuesday, leaving more than 20 people injured and causing widespread property damage. The strikes hit Kharkiv, Ukraines...

Trump-Putin Call Addresses Iran War, Ukraine Peace, and Global Oil Crisis

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a significant phone call on Monday, addressing the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, the conflict in Ukraine, and growing instability in global energy...

Trump Hints at Possible U.S. Takeover of Cuba Amid Deepening Humanitarian Crisis

President Donald Trump raised eyebrows Monday when he suggested Cuba could be facing a potential U.S.-led takeover, describing the Caribbean nation as running on fumes with virtually no energy resources or financial...

Taiwan's MQ-9B SkyGuardian Drone Order Stays on Schedule Despite Middle East Conflict

Taiwans air force confirmed Tuesday that its procurement of four advanced MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones from U.S. defense manufacturer General Atomics remains on schedule and has not been disrupted by ongoing military...

U.S. Patriot Missiles Redeployed From South Korea Amid Middle East Conflict

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung acknowledged Tuesday that Seoul lacks the authority to prevent Washington from relocating U.S. military weapons stationed on the peninsula, following reports that Patriot missile...

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Technology

Amazon Engineers Investigate AI-Linked Outages as GenAI Coding Tools Raise Reliability Concerns

Amazon has convened a large group of engineers to investigate a pattern of service disruptions tied to artificial intelligence, according to a report by the Financial Times. The internal meeting was prompted by what the...

Chinese AI Stocks Surge as Tencent, MiniMax, and Zhipu Launch Agentic AI Programs

Chinese artificial intelligence stocks climbed sharply on Tuesday, driven by growing investor enthusiasm around agentic AI a rapidly emerging category of software capable of performing complex tasks autonomously on user...

Apple Bets Big on India: iPhone Production Hits 55 Million Units as China Reliance Fades

Apple has dramatically scaled up iPhone manufacturing in India, assembling approximately 55 million units throughout 2025 a striking 53% jump from the 36 million produced the year prior. The surge signals a decisive...

Anthropic Sues Pentagon Over AI Blacklist, Citing Free Speech Violations

Anthropic has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Pentagons decision to place the AI company on a national security blacklist, marking a dramatic escalation in its standoff with the U.S. military. The California-based...

Yann LeCun's AI Startup AMI Raises $1 Billion at $3.5 Billion Valuation

Advanced Machine Intelligence (AMI), the artificial intelligence startup founded by renowned AI researcher and former Meta Platforms chief AI scientist Yann LeCun, has successfully closed a $1.03 billion funding round...