Renowned environmentalist and scientist Madhav Gadgil passed away on Wednesday in Pune, Maharashtra. He was 83. According to his family, the scientist took his last breath at a hospital in Pune. He was suffering from age-related illness.
Madhav Gadgil was best known for his pioneering work on the Western Ghats mountain range and for serving as chairman of the Gadgil Commission. His research on the Western Ghats played a significant role in shaping India’s environmental policy. The Gadgil Commission made several key recommendations aimed at protecting the ecologically fragile region.
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An Indian environmentalist, scientist, and author, Gadgil was also the founder of the Ecological Sciences Centre at the Indian Institute of Science. In 2024, the United Nations honoured him with the annual Champions of the Earth award, one of the highest global environmental honours, for his outstanding work on the Western Ghats, a recognised global biodiversity hotspot. He received numerous national and international awards over the course of his career.
Following his death, distinguished personalities from various sections of society described his passing as an irreparable loss to India’s environmental movement.
