Renowned Indian ecologist Prof. Madhav Gadgil passed away on January 7, 2026, at the age of 83. Widely regarded as the 'father of modern Indian ecology,' Gadgil made foundational contributions to conservation biology, biodiversity science, and environmental governance in India over six decades of scholarship and public service. Born in 1942, Gadgil obtained his PhD from Harvard University and subsequently built the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, into a world-class research institution. He was instrumental in the creation of India's first Biosphere Reserve — the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve — and contributed substantially to the drafting of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, which established the National Biodiversity Authority and Biodiversity Management Committees. He was best known internationally for chairing the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), whose 2011 report — the 'Gadgil Report' — recommended declaring approximately 64% of the Western Ghats as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA). The report, though heavily contested by state governments and development lobbies, is considered a landmark in precautionary environmental governance. Gadgil was a recipient of multiple national and international honours including the Padma Shri, the Volvo Environment Prize, and the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. His work on People's Biodiversity Registers (PBRs) — a grassroots documentation system for biodiversity — pioneered the integration of traditional ecological knowledge with mainstream conservation science. For RPSC RAS aspirants, Gadgil's contributions are directly relevant to Paper-IV (Environment and Ecology) and the broader context of India's biodiversity governance, conservation law, and the rights of forest-dependent communities.