jats:p The city of Chennai in southern India lies directly under one of the most significant global flyways for migratory birds. Over the last forty years, however, this intricate regional topography of lakes and watercourses that supports millions of birds and other organisms has been drastically reduced. I develop the idea of “ecological decay” in relation to the Pallikaranai wetlands in southern Chennai to explore the multiple socio-ecological dynamics behind declining levels of biodiversity. I note how the colonial simplification of the landscape has been entrained within an accelerated impetus towards regional capitalist urbanization. Thus far, however, the question of biodiversity in Chennai has been largely framed through the analytical lens of European modernity. I consider in particular whether a modified urban political ecology framework might provide distinctive insights into the particularities of biodiversity decline in an Indian context. </jats:p>