Madhav Gadgil passes away, recipient of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Champions of the Earth award

Exam-focused facts from the 9 January 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

Madhav Gadgil chaired the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), later known as the Gadgil Commission.
He was a key architect of India’s Biological Diversity Act and contributed to the implementation of the Forest Rights Act.
Gadgil established India’s first biosphere reserve, the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, in 1986.
In 2024, he was named a laureate of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth award.