Environmental Wisdom from Madhav Gadgil

Published a year ago in 2023, “A Walk Up The Hill” is an autobiography of Madhav Gadgil. It highlights the importance of environmental conservation, detailing his experiences and the systematic neglect of his warnings. This gripping account underscores the urgent need for policymakers to prioritise sustainability and heed expert advice.

Ignoring scientists’ unbiased recommendations can have severe consequences for a nation if only policymakers understand the irreparable damage. Kerala’s recent tragedy was of immense magnitude and seemed like a natural disaster, but it wasn’t entirely so.

Walking up the hill is, in most cases, a stressful job for anyone, as the old adage says. This autobiography explains that for an ecologist or environmental conservationist, present times are indeed stressful from any angle. Political leaders and policymakers are often indifferent to environmental concerns, leading to tragedies like the recent disaster in Kerala’s hilly areas, which the author had forewarned years ago. When reading this gripping tome, Madhav Gadgil, 82, was making news following the Wayanad disaster in Kerala’s Western Ghats, which killed nearly 300 people—a disaster Gadgil termed ‘man-made.’

The Western Ghats are no ordinary biome. They are a rare collection of biodiversity, serving as a lifeline to several Indian states. The ecological services they provide are immeasurable. In 2011, Gadgil submitted the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) report to the government, recommending large parts of this fragile ecological hotspot be declared environmentally sensitive. As the chairman of the panel appointed by the Government of India in 2010, Gadgil’s experiences with people, governments, and nature are extensively detailed in his recently released book.

Gadgil, one of the best-known voices in environmental conservation in India, has had a prolific career. Besides teaching at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, for 31 years, he has been involved with numerous institutions and committees. A Harvard graduate with a doctoral thesis in mathematical ecology, Gadgil played a crucial role in scripting the Indian Biological Diversity Act 2002.

Gadgil’s vast experiences, from wildlife conservation to anthropological studies to bamboo plantations, are amply reflected in this book. He straddled diverse fields and significantly contributed to various environmental projects and policies. As Jairam Ramesh, Member of Parliament representing Karnataka state in the Rajya Sabha, writes, “Scholar, field researcher, teacher, institution-builder, policy influencer, activist, author—Madhav Gadgil has been all this and more.”

Gadgil’s illustrious father, Prof. D R Gadgil, was deputy chairman of the Planning Commission and an avid bird watcher from Pune. Madhav learnt much about nature from his father. Gadgil has done an exceptional job documenting his firsthand experiences with people from different states and summarising the ups and downs of the environmental conservation movement in India since independence.

It’s amazing to see how Gadgil helped establish the Centre for Ecological Sciences at IISc, Bengaluru; undertook a bamboo resource study in 1976 in North Karnataka; worked with MS Swaminathan to suggest the creation of the Department of Environment and Forests in 1980; collaborated with environmentalist and political activist Sunita Narain on the Tiger Task Force in 2005, and helped set up the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, among many other projects.

In the chapter “Managing Bamboos,” Gadgil writes about the flawed silvicultural practices by West Coast Paper Mills and the challenges in bamboo regeneration due to neglecting proper regulations. On the Western Ghats, he emphasises their unique biological heritage and the need for their protection, as underscored by the UNESCO Heritage Convention.

The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), also known as the Gadgil Commission, in its report suggested several measures, including prohibiting new hill stations, SEZs, and the use of dynamite for fishing, stopping illegal mining, promoting run-of-the-river schemes, and clearly marking eco-sensitive zones. The Western Ghats are crucial, providing water to 245 million people and sheltering 51 critically endangered species.

When Gadgil describes how Jayanthi Natrajan, the then Environment Minister, sidelined the Western Ghats report following Jairam Ramesh’s transfer in 2011, his disappointment is evident. Despite assisting Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in creating the Environment Ministry, his recommendations were disregarded. Gadgil recounts his visit to Kalane village in Sindhudurg, where villagers initially supported declaring their gram panchayat as an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) but were later swayed by local politicians who spread misinformation. He writes that local lobbies with vested interests also worked to discredit the WGEEP report.

In his memoirs, Gadgil argues for preserving biodiversity by compensating local communities for conservation efforts, drawing parallels with practices in Australia. He voices his disappointment over the lack of progress in biodiversity conservation, despite the Biodiversity Act’s existence and its provisions for the creation of People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs).

This autobiography provides a comprehensive look into Madhav Gadgil’s life and his relentless efforts to advocate for environmental conservation in India.