Ecologist Madhav Gadgil who shared a deep bond with Kerala and the fragile western ghats no more
Gadgil was best known for chairing the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), constituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 2010.
Pune: Madhav Gadgil’s demise is a shocking news for Kerala and those who care for nature, especially the studies he conducted on the western ghat planes in the state. Widely regarded as the father of modern Indian ecology, Gadgil was one of the country’s foremost environmental thinkers who consistently argued that conservation must be rooted in scientific rigour, social justice and the active participation of local communities. His life’s work profoundly shaped India’s environmental thinking and policy framework over more than five decades.
Environmental activists in Wayanad remembers him as a towering figure who intervened in issues that mattered to the fragile environmental ecosystem that mattered for human beings and animals.
"Its a huge loss for all those who care for nature and raise the voice against the government institutions and corporates who have been blatantly violating the environmental norms for decades. His journals on the ghats we highly impactful as it had scientific basis where no one could counter”, said NM Badusha, coordinator, Wayanad Samrakshana Samithi to News9.
Gadgil was best known for chairing the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), constituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 2010.
The panel’s 2011 report, popularly known as the Gadgil Report, warned that unchecked mining, quarrying, large dams and infrastructure projects would trigger ecological disasters in the fragile Western Ghats. While the report faced strong opposition from several states and development lobbies, its recommendations gained renewed attention following devastating floods and landslides in Kerala, Kodagu and parts of Maharashtra in subsequent years.
Madhav Gadgil's report on western ghats had created a major furore after the Congress-led UDF government had decided to implement the suggestions and points made in the Western-ghat report. A section of farmers supported by the Catholic church had held violent protest demanding the state government to withdraw from the plan to go ahead with the project. Senior politicians from both the Congress and the CPM had then criticised Gadgil and his suggestions made on preserving the ghat region.
However, after the 2024 Wayanad landslides many including politicians and activists who had earlier denounced the suggestions made by Gadgil agreed with his theories.
Background
Born in Pune in 1942, Madhav Dhananjaya Gadgil was the founder of the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, established in 1983. Under his leadership, the centre emerged as one of India’s leading institutions for research in ecology, conservation biology and environmental policy. His academic work spanned population biology, human ecology, ecological history and biodiversity conservation, with a strong emphasis on coexistence between humans and nature.
A key architect of India’s Biological Diversity Act, 2002, Gadgil also pioneered the concept of People’s Biodiversity Registers, empowering local self-governing bodies to document and protect biological resources and traditional ecological knowledge. His early scientific studies on sacred groves highlighted their ecological importance long before the idea gained wider recognition.