Eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil, widely regarded as one of India’s foremost champions of environmental conservation and a key voice in protecting the Western Ghats, passed away in Pune late Wednesday night after a brief illness, family sources said. He was 83.
Gadgil breathed his last at a private hospital in Pune, marking the end of a distinguished career that shaped India’s ecological research, conservation policy and public environmental consciousness for over five decades.
He was the founder of the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science and chaired the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, popularly known as the Gadgil Commission. The panel’s 2011 report, which recommended declaring large parts of the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive zones, sparked intense national debate but is widely considered a landmark in India’s environmental history.
In recognition of his lifelong work, Gadgil was honoured in 2024 with the United Nations Champions of the Earth award, the UN’s highest environmental honour, for his seminal contributions to safeguarding the Western Ghats, one of the world’s richest biodiversity hotspots.
Born in Pune on May 24, 1942, Gadgil hailed from an eminent academic family. His father, Dhananjay Ramchandra Gadgil, was a noted economist and former director of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics. Madhav Gadgil completed his graduation in biology from Fergusson College in 1963, earned a master’s degree in zoology from the University of Mumbai in 1965, and went on to obtain a PhD from Harvard University in 1969, specialising in mathematical ecology and animal behaviour.
After returning to India in 1971, Gadgil joined IISc in 1973, where he played a pivotal role in institutionalising ecological research. During his tenure, he helped establish the Centre for Ecological Sciences and the Centre for Theoretical Studies, laying the foundation for contemporary ecological and interdisciplinary research in the country.
Following his retirement from IISc in 2004, Gadgil continued his academic and research work at the Agharkar Research Institute in Pune and the University of Goa. He also served on several high-level advisory bodies, including the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, the National Advisory Council and the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
A prolific scholar, Gadgil authored or co-authored more than 250 scientific papers and several influential books, including This Fissured Land and Ecology and Equity. Beyond academia, he was a regular columnist in English and Marathi, committed to making ecological issues accessible to the wider public.
His contributions were recognised with numerous national and international honours, including the Padma Shri (1981), Padma Bhushan (2006), Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, Volvo Environment Prize and the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement.
Gadgil’s passing is being mourned across academic, environmental and policy circles as the loss of a scientist who combined rigorous scholarship with an unwavering commitment to ecological justice. His last rites will be performed later on Thursday.
