Eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil passed away on January 7, 2026, in Kerala.
Over one and a half decades, his work reshaped debates on development and conservation.
His leadership of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel changed Kerala’s environmental discourse.

BulletsIn

•  Madhav Gadgil remembered as a one-man green army
•  Led Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP)
•  WGEEP report reshaped Kerala’s political landscape
•  Western Ghats classified into Ecologically Sensitive Zones
•  142 taluks divided into ESZ-1, ESZ-2, and ESZ-3
•  No new polluting industries in ESZ-1 and ESZ-2
•  Ban included coal-based power plants
•  Existing red, orange industries urged zero pollution by 2016
• Social audit system proposed for accountability