Ritesh Sarothiya — The Officer Giving Sleepless Nights to Illegal Wildlife Traders & Traffickers
WeNaturalists names Ritesh Sarothiya as the winner of the WeNaturalists People of Nature awards 2021 under the Nature Conservation category.
The article was originally published on WeNaturalists. For similar stories, head to our Explore section.
Ritesh Sarothiya, the Deputy Conservator of Forest, Officer-In-Charge of the Special Task Force & State Tiger Strike Force in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India, is a force to be reckoned with in the world of Nature and Wildlife conservation.
Ritesh joined Indian Forest Service in 2009 and has been involved in a number of projects related to doubling down on illegal wildlife trade and trafficking over the years. His work has led to a spate of traffickers being arrested and trafficking gangs busted. This has substantially reduced illegal wildlife trade in India and its neighboring regions.
His List of Accomplishments Are Noteworthy
Ritesh has arrested over 700 people in a span of 6 years, with 172 of them in pangolin-related cases. Throughout the years, he has also enlightened and sensitized numerous Judicial Magistrates and other Personnel,
Police Officers, Field Forest Officers, Bureaucrats, Persecution Officers, Wildlife Forensics Experts, Customs Personnel, Trainee Forest Officers, Conservationists, Students and other stakeholders about wildlife crime and illegal wildlife trade.
Thanks to his relentless efforts, an international syndicate involved in the illegal trade of prohibited species of turtles was busted and all 13 accused were convicted. Not only that, but Ritesh was also responsible for the arrest and conviction of a tiger trader who traded 30 tiger hides and 1200 leopard hides.
His other remarkable achievements include -
- The arrest of 60 people in a tiger-leopard poaching crime
- Arresting of an infamous tiger poacher after a 6-year long chase
- Busting of a gang with a network spread over 10 countries
- Seizure of red sanders wood worth 1.07 million dollars
- Seizure of Sulcata tortoise (Endemic to sub-Saharan Africa)
His efforts have earned him various accolades. In 2019, he has conferred the WWF-PATA Baghmitra award. Among other honors and awards, he has also received a Commendation certificate from the Forest Minister of the time, and a Gold medal from the State Government of Madhya Pradesh, India in 2016.
Through his work and his life, Ritesh has set an enduring example of a life devoted to nature. He exemplifies the spirit of People of Nature in the best way. The People of Nature, with their passion and dedication, have left a lasting mark in the conservation and preservation of the rich biodiversity in the world.
On Oct 1, WeNaturalists earmarked World People Of Nature Day. On this day, we celebrated People of Nature like Ritesh Sarothiya for their efforts towards protecting wildlife and conserving biodiversity.
As part of the celebration, we hosted a webinar where we discussed Green Childhood — its benefits and the need for it in today’s world, with a panel of experts from different fields of nature. Learn more about it here.
