“Imagine communities becoming more resilient to whatever challenges they face, and being able to live truly sustainably. That’s the future we’d like to help create.”

Vik Mohan – TEDx Exeter 2017

Vik Mohan

How listening to communities can help save our oceans

Listening to communities in remote parts of the world and integrating health and conservation programmes is the key to making a positive impact. Dr Vik Mohan realised this through his work with the marine conservation organisation Blue Ventures. Here he explains how family planning and regenerating fish stocks go hand in hand.

Dr Vik Mohan is a GP in Exeter, medical director at Blue Ventures Conservation, and the architect of Blue Ventures’ award-winning integrated health and conservation programme.

While working with communities in Madagascar on Blue Ventures’ community-based marine conservation programme, Vik’s interest in community health led him to uncover a huge unmet need for health care, and sexual and reproductive health care in particular. Responding to this need, he led the development of the region’s first sexual and reproductive health service and oversaw its integration into the Blue Ventures’ activities, to form an integrated population, health and environment programme.

Improved natural resource management and community resilience, through to improvements in maternal and child health are some of the many benefits Vik has seen as a result of nearly 10 years of working in this way. He now wants to ensure that as many people as possible can benefit from this “whole system” approach to conservation and sustainable development. He now focuses on supporting  others to adopt this approach, in Madagascar and beyond.

Biography published 2017

Watch our other 2017 speakers

Street Factory

Helping young people find their genius

Andrew Solomon

How open borders make us safe

Christina Lamb

Finding hope in dark places: women in war

TEDxExeter 2017