He became a superintendent of the Dapuri botanical gardens (1838-47) under the erstwhile Bombay Presidency.He was appointed as the first Conservator of Forests of India on 22 March 1847.
As a child, Alexander learned from his father religious tolerance, love of nature, and progressive farming skills.
He studied Latin, Greek, and natural history at the Mauritius College in Monterrey, Montreux Academy.
In 1827, Dr. Gibson came to Matunga in Mumbai from Burma after being appointed as an 'Assistant Surgeon' for the Troops of Bombay Horse, Artillery.
The medical service in India during the late 19th century widely quoted the works of Alexander Humboldt linking deforestation, increasing aridity, and temperature change on a global scale.
In another report, Gibson wrote to Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1841 that "the Deccan is more bare than Gujarat" with the ghat mountain trees disappearing fast.
[4][5] Due to shortage of timber supply to the East India Company for shipbuilding, in 1840, the Government of Mumbai ordered a survey of the northern forests of the Western Ghats.
To avoid the dangers of malaria and toxic gases, Gibson would get up at three in the morning and walk eight miles in the light of a flashlight.
Coal, agricultural implements, wheels, civil works, poles, ammunition trucks, guns, fuel, etc.
Regarding handing over the responsibility of the forest to the people, Dr. Gibson advised the government to reconsider and stressed the need to create rules to curb illegal logging.
[6] In 1836, the Governor of Mumbai, Sir Robert Grant appointed Dr. Gibson at Dapodi Udyan which was situated on 90 acres along the river Pawana.
The agricultural implements Gibson sent to Scotland 177 years ago included local spades, shovels, seed drills, plows, and threshing machines.