Ecologist Madhav Gadgil, leading voice on Western Ghats conservation, dies at 83

Renowned Indian ecologist Madhav Gadgil died in Pune late on Wednesday after a brief illness, Hindustan Times quoted his son Siddhartha Gadgil as saying. He was 83 years old.

Widely regarded as a leading figure in Indian ecology, Gadgil was best known for chairing the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, appointed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 2010. The panel’s 2011 report, commonly referred to as the Gadgil Report, warned that activities such as mining, quarrying, large dams and unregulated infrastructure development posed serious risks to the ecologically fragile Western Ghats.

The report, despite strong opposition, recommended that 75% of the mountain range be declared environmentally sensitive owing to the presence of a variety of endemic species and dense forest cover, Hindustan Times reported.

These recommendations are yet to be fully implemented.

Gadgil, born in Pune in 1942, was educated in Pune and Mumbai, after which he went Harvard University to pursue higher studies. At Harvard, he completed a doctoral thesis in mathematical ecology.

He spent more than three decades on the faculty of the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru and founded the Centre for Ecological Sciences there in 1983.

Gadgil authored or co-authored seven books and over 225 scientific papers. His major works include This Fissured Land, co-authored with Ramachandra Guha, Ecology and Equity and his autobiography A Walk Up...

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