Madhav Gadgil’s enduring legacy in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve

The passing of ecologist Madhav Gadgil on Thursday (January 8, 2026) has left a void in the Nilgiris where he had done phenomenal work.

“Almost everyone working on ecology in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve and across the Western Ghats, directly or indirectly are connected to, or are influenced by the work of Madhav Gadgil,” said a scientist who spoke to The Hindu about the renowned ecologist’s lasting legacy.

According to ecologists and academics who either worked directly with Gadgil, or were familiar with his work, his and his students’ research in the Western Ghats, and particularly in what is today known as the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR), laid the foundation for the recognition of the region’s immense importance to biodiversity and to its protection.

“It was during his students’ work on elephants in the landscape that Gadgil understood the importance of a landscape-level conservation framework that was required to protect the Asian elephant,” said a senior scientist who requested anonymity.

“He established the Centre for Ecological Science in the Indian institute of Sciences, Bangalore. And as Director of the Centre for Ecological Sciences, he authored the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR) concept document, the first Biosphere Reserve, under the Man and Biosphere Reserve (MAB) Program of UNESCO, in India,” said senior environmental lawyer and former member of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), B.J. Krishnan.

“As a Member of the WGEEP, I had the privilege of working with Professor Gadgil and contributing to the panel’s report. Gadgil was a gentle colossus in the field of all inclusive, people-centric, nature conservation regime. His demise is a huge loss for nature conservation and biodiversity dependant livelihoods, added Mr. Krishnan.

Karthick Balasubramanian, scientist at the Agharkar Research Institute in Pune, said that Gadgil’s legacy extends even farther than the formation of the NBR and the recommendations of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), impacting the careers of young, aspiring scientists and conservationists.

“Through his Western Ghats Network Programme, he managed to connect faculties and students from across the Western Ghats, from Gujarat to Tamil Nadu. This community-driven, collaborative effort has helped so many teachers from across the landscape, and their students gain expertise in different facets of biodiversity and conservation, including specializing in studying lesser known species and families of wildlife,” Mr. Balasubramanian said.

Throughout his life, Gadgil had also voiced strong opposition to projects that were detrimental to the ecology of the Western Ghats, including the proposed Neutrino Observatory in Singara in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR), said Nilgiris-based environmentalist N. Mohanraj. “He also fully-backed the notification of the Segur elephant corridor,” he further shared.

“He had a crucial role in the Save Silent Valley Movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s and was very supporting of the Save Western Ghats March of civil society in the late 1980’s,” added Mr. Krishnan.

“After being appointed the Chairman of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) in 2010, the panel’s work was open, transparent, democratic and involved all the concerned stakeholders of Western Ghats. The Gadgil panel’s report submitted in 2011 was globally hailed for its depth, style and substance. It had declared the entire Western Ghats, including Nilgiris, as ecologically sensitive. The report advocated an all inclusive community-centric nature conservation that supported and enhanced local livelihoods. The report directly confronted the pro-market political economy of the country. It was people-centric and not GDP oriented and therefore not acceptable to the political class. The Government of India and all the five concerned Western Ghats States rejected the report. But it’s spirit lives on,” he added.