Renowned botanist Palpu Pushpangadan passes away

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Renowned botanist Palpu Pushpangadan (81) passed away. He was under treatment for old age ailments. He is a recipient of Padma Shri. He has held prominent posts in renowned scientific institutions in the country. He is a scientist who has made valuable contributions to ethnobotany.

He was the first in the world to develop an equitable benefit sharing model. This is a method of using traditional knowledge about biological resources to achieve new achievements and ensuring that the groups that protect them receive benefits. An example of this is the product 'Jeevani' developed by Palpu Pushpangadan from the traditional knowledge of the Kani tribes.

Born on 23 January 1944 at Prakkulam in Kollam, he has expertise in various scientific disciplines including cytogenetics, plant breeding, bioprospecting, biotechnology, conservation biology, ethnobiology, ethnopharmacology and pharmacognosy.

He started his professional career in 1969 at the CSIR Research Laboratory in Jammu. After completing his BSc from the University of Kerala, he obtained his MSc and PhD from Aligarh Muslim University. He also served as the Director of the Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI), Palode from 1999 to 2006. He also held special charge of the Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology.