Renowned ecologist Madhav Gadgil passes away at 82

Renowned ecologist Madhav Gadgil passed away at his residence in Pune late night on Wednesday (January 7, 2026) after a brief illness, his son Siddhartha Gadgil told The Hindu on Thursday (January 8, 2026). He was 82.

The cremation will take place at 4 p.m. today at Pune’s Vaikuntha crematorium.

He was known for his work on the ecological significance of the western ghats. In 2024, the United Nations had recognised him with the annual Champions of the Earth award, the UN’s highest environmental honour, for his seminal work in the Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot.

His report had included several recommendations for strict restrictions with regard to areas categorised as highly sensitive. It had recommended that no new roads or building construction, no development on steep slopes, and a ban on rock quarrying, among others.

During his interview to The Hindu last year, he had expressed concerns about the disasters in the western ghats, adding that all the recommendations in the report were much needed to avert disasters. “What we witnessed was a model of development being imposed on people: mining operations and polluting industries were forced upon communities without their consent. At the same time, even conservation efforts were imposed in a top-down, authoritarian manner by a forest department that often acted in a tyrannical and anti-people way,” he had said.

In a post on X, former Environment Minister and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said Madhav Gadgil was a top-notch academic scientist, a tireless field researcher, a pioneering institution-builder, a great communicator, a firm believer in people’s networks and movements, and friend, philosopher, guide, and mentor to many for over five decades. “Trained at the very best universities in modern science, he was at the same time a champion of traditional knowledge systems - especially in biodiversity conservation,” the post said.

Mr. Ramesh said Madhav Gadgil’s life was devoted to scholarship in the noblest sense of the term and he will remain an iconic and inspirational figure.