Mongabay found unlicensed rhododendron liquor being sold openly in tourist shops across eastern Nepal’s Tinjure-Milke-Jaljale (TMJ) region, which is home to at least 26 rhododendron species, with no official labeling, no health testing and no tracking of sources.Nepal’s conservation laws prohibit commercial harvesting of rhododendrons from community forests without approval, but legal ambiguity over privately cultivated flowers has left officials uncertain about how to enforce existing rules.Some rhododendron species contain grayanotoxins that can be toxic, even fatal in rare cases. Yet none of the bottles being sold in the TMJ region have been tested for safety, according to local officials and vendors.Local residents say the practice emerged roughly three years ago alongside a post-pandemic tourism rebound; some producers say it gives them extra income.
TINJURE-MILKE-JALJALE, Nepal — Every April, Nima Sherpa’s family used to picnic in a rhododendron (lali guras in Nepali) forest about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from her home at Basantapur Bazaar in Tehrathum in the Tinjure-Milke-Jaljale (TMJ) region, which stretched across the eastern districts of Tehrathum, Taplejung and Sankhuwasabha.
