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| SINGAPORE |
| Geh Min |
| Ophthalmologist, environmentalist and president of the Nature Society of Singapore |
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A distinguished eye surgeon, Dr Geh Min is also one of South-East Asia's most committed conservationists. The first woman president of the Nature Society of Singapore (since 2000) and a nominated member of Parliament from 2004 to 2006, she also serves on the boards of the Singapore Environment Council and of the Nature Conservancy's Asia Pacific Council.
Geh Min is a tireless campaigner who has helped implement milestone environmental preservation policies such as the Singapore Green Plan 2012, a ten-year blueprint to build a sustainable environment. Under her leadership, the Nature Society of Singapore has been instrumental in campaigning for and helping to establish wetland and marine reserves, as well as bird and mangrove sanctuaries. In February 2007, she led her country's delegation at the Citizens of the Earth conference in Paris.
Geh Min's passion for nature can be traced to her childhood, when her father took her walking in the jungle and deep-sea fishing. In 1980, she became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh. Since 1988, she has practised as a consultant eye surgeon at Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre and at the National University Hospital.
She is also committed to promoting women's and children's rights, culture and the arts. An enthusiastic committee member of the International Women's Forum's Singapore chapter, she also served on the board of directors of Save the Children (Singapore) from 1989 to 2004.
"Whether it's creativity in the sciences or the arts, you finally have to get back to nature as the bottom line", she says.
In 2006, she received the Stellar Award from the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the inaugural President of Singapore's Award for the Environment for her contributions to environmental sustainability.
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