'SheLovesFlowersThanMe' TikTok Trend Sparks Rhododendron Plucking Frenzy, Raising Environmental Concerns
चैत ६, २०८२ १४:४८
Kathmandu. With the arrival of spring, the hills of Nepal come alive. After enduring the cold winter, nature is changing its attire, and the forests of the hills and mountains are fully adorned with blooming and colorful rhododendrons. Everyone's hearts are captivated by the glistening white mountains in the background and the red-hued rhododendron trees directly beneath them.
However, recently, a disturbing trend on social media has emerged that tarnishes this exquisite beauty of nature and threatens its very existence. Driven by the desire to go viral on TikTok, the youth have been breaking rhododendron branches and destroying flowers in a competitive frenzy.
The trend currently circulating on TikTok is 'POV: She loves flowers more than me.' Nepali TikTok users have been influenced by this trend, cutting fully bloomed rhododendron branches to showcase that their significant other loves flowers, while creating content with them. Driven by the desire for likes and views after uploading the video, such individuals are destroying nature.
The tendency to cut down trees just to go viral
There has been a flood of such videos on TikTok. If you search with the keyword 'She loves flowers than me,' you will find hundreds of such videos. One of them is a user named 'Neesal.21' on TikTok. He posted a video on February 2. The caption of the video reads, 'Pov: she love flowers, then me.' In the video, he has a handful of plucked rhododendron flowers. Some flowers are adorned in the ears, while some are kept in the pocket. This video, which exploits nature, has received more than 35,000 likes.
Likewise, a user named Ayush Lama Yonjan uploaded another video on March 6. In the video, he climbs a rhododendron tree and breaks a large branch. He is seen holding the branch on his shoulder as he celebrates. When negative comments started appearing on the video, he deleted those comments and prevented others from commenting. That video also has over 35,000 likes.
User Asmita Magar shared a video of herself cutting rhododendron tree branches with the same caption. In the video, which has nearly 4,000 likes, she is seen holding rhododendron branches while filming and poses at the end. TikTok user ‘Mr. Chhettri’ was also influenced by this trend. He climbed the tree and snapped a large branch just for the sake of a TikTok video. The majority of viewers of the video, which has received over 16,000 likes, strongly opposed and condemned the act. However, these users have not stopped making other TikTok videos by breaking rhododendron branches.
A TikTok named Pramila Magar used the same approach. After receiving mostly negative comments, she deleted all of them and disabled commenting. Her video has received more than 18,000 likes. Similarly, Dipendra Budha Magar has plucked rhododendron branches to garner nearly 6,000 likes, while Sachin Khadka, a TikToker, broke branches for entertainment and garnered over 19,000 likes. A user named Roshan Regmi followed the same trend by plucking rhododendron branches and putting them inside a jacket. In an attempt to follow this trend, hundreds of other Nepali users are actively making videos by breaking rhododendron branches.
Social media outrage over destructive trend
Although such videos have gone viral on TikTok, most viewers criticized them. In the comment section, people expressed concern over the exploitation of nature.
Concerned viewers have appealed to leave the beauty of nature as it is. “Leave the beauty of nature as it is; it looks beautiful in nature.” Another user shared lines of a poem by Laxmi Prasad Devkota, “Do not pluck the bud, do not pinch it; it's sinful. Do not tear the flower, child; compassion and righteousness leave.”
Many have questioned the rationale behind breaking the flower branches, claiming that they look better on the plant. One forestry student wrote in a video, "Maybe because I studied forestry, witnessing this really makes my heart ache. Please don't cut the entire branch just because you enjoy the flower.” "This is not good, we must protect our national flower, not destroy it," another user said, emphasizing the need to preserve the national flower.
"At the moment, Nepal's unemployment has led some youths to follow the trend of breaking and destroying rhododendrons," an angry user said, linking the nation's tourism and economics. “Tourists from home and abroad spend a lot of money to see rhododendrons. If killing the national animal, the cow, is illegal, then people who destroy the national flower, the rhododendron, should be held accountable as well. This message is for those uneducated anarchists.”
Similarly, highlighting the ecological importance of rhododendrons, a viewer commented, “If you pluck rhododendrons, they may not bloom properly the next year, and the number of flowers may decrease in the coming year.” One user wrote angrily, “What is this, brother, is it allowed to pluck rhododendrons like this? Now in the monsoon, plant as many rhododendron plants as you have plucked!”
In many other comments, users have said, “Isn't it unethical to harm nature like this? What will tomorrow's visitors see? The flowers would have lasted 25 to 30 days if they had been on the tree.”
Someone sarcastically said, “You cannot beaufity the country yourself and destroy what nature has already decorated. One day, the person for whom you picked these flowers and emptied a tree will also depart from you and leave you empty.”
“Love and attachment are all illusions. A person who enjoys flowers will get even more furious if the branch itself is broken and presented. The person would have been a hundred times happier if they had been given a seedling of the flower,” one commenter said. “Do not destroy natural beauty for likes and views,” stated another. “Create a garden for your lover if she likes flowers. Flowers that bloom only once a year should not be wasted in this manner.”
Many have described this act as an act of destruction, saying, “Well done, cut down that tree and give the bark of the tree next year; the flowers probably won’t bloom.” Conservation-loving social media users have raised the issue of seed production and reproduction, appealing to people to not break branches and to discourage others as well. One person sarcastically wrote, “Look, look, as if you have won a world war, you don’t need flowers next year, friend? Or will it bloom on the ground, since the tree has been broken apart!”
‘When a branch breaks, the tree itself dries up; this is an attack on the ecosystem’
In this regard, Dr. Ram Prasad Chaudhary, an expert in botany, biodiversity, ethnobotany, and Himalayan ecology at Tribhuvan University, expresses concern. He says, “Rhododendron is native to the Himalayan region. There are about 30 species of rhododendron in Nepal. Because of the harsh climate, it takes a long time for any species to grow and flourish.”
In addition to being Nepal's national flower, rhododendron is regarded as a beautiful flower all over the world. Dr. Chaudhary claims that when people from the British East India Company visited this region in the 18th and 19th centuries, they painted pictures of beautiful flowers, with the rhododendron being one of the most prominent. "It is very inappropriate to cut down or break the branches of a tree that takes so much time to grow," he says.
The importance of rhododendrons is not limited to its beauty alone. Its traditional and medicinal significance is equally notable. According to Dr. Chaudhary, the Chepang and Raute communities have traditionally been eating rhododendron flowers mixed with salt and chili. Regarding its medicinal properties, he mentions that drinking the juice of the rhododendron’s outer layer helps cure diarrhea. In the western Himalayas, especially in Darchula, Nepal, and Uttarakhand, India, there is a practice of extracting rhododendron juice and drinking it, which is referred to as 'buras' or 'bura.' Dr. Chaudhary explains that it is believed to help prevent vomiting and, in cases where a fishbone is stuck in the throat, drinking the juice helps dislodge the bone.
Rhododendrons play a crucial part in the ecology. “The soil's ability to retain water is enhanced by rhododendron forests. However, rhododendrons are now beginning to bloom earlier than usual due to climate change,” says Dr. Chaudhary. “Flowers that are meant to blossom in April are now flowering in February or March. The schedule of bees and other insects that come for pollination is thrown off by this. The flowers have already blossomed and disappeared, yet insects arrive during their respective months. As a result, seed production and the quantity of flowers are decreasing.”
"The rhododendron is in danger because of the impact of climate change, the tendency of people to cut it for firewood, and the ongoing competition to break branches in order to go viral on TikTok. Breaking branches like this greatly increases the risk of the tree's crown being stripped and the tree drying out," Dr. Chaudhary continues. "On the plant itself, the flowers look attractive. This culture of seeking applause is wrong. To prevent this, moral education from family and society is required. People need to take this seriously."
‘Doing this inside national parks and protected areas will lead to action according to the law’
Regarding this viral trend of plucking rhododendrons, Bibek Baiju, the Conservation Officer and Information Officer of Sagarmatha National Park, has stated that such activity is illegal. "Harming, picking, or using plants and wildlife is strictly prohibited inside national park or protected area. This is against the park regulations," he said.
Even though the exact location in the video is not revealed, he said that such misconduct could have occurred on the Himalayan and hill trekking routes.
"Our patrol personnel are stationed at every checkpoint from morning to evening, particularly during the peak trekking season. If anyone is found doing such activities unauthorizedly from the mid-region to inside the national park, we catch them, take responsibility for the park, and take action,” said Officer Baiju.
Although the Department of Botany focuses on research and conservation, he stated that no one is exempt from the indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources. “Even within the research base, plants cannot be cultivated without authorization. We will carefully increase monitoring and send out a circular to all of our posts after learning more about this situation," he stated.
Why is the conservation of rhododendrons important in times of crisis?
As the trend of plucking rhododendrons to go viral took off, various organizations in the areas where this plant is found have launched awareness campaigns. The 'Ghorepani Hotel Management Committee' in the Myagdi district has put up a board warning of fines. The board advises against picking rhododendrons and states that doing so would impose a fine of five thousand rupees.
A board with an awareness message has been placed by the Government of Nepal, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, the National Nature Conservation Fund, and the Wildlife Week 2081 campaign. The board reads: ‘Rhododendron is not only the national flower of Nepal, but it is also our pride and identity. This deciduous plant, found at an altitude of 1,200 to 3,600 meters above sea level, usually blooms in the months of Magh and Falgun. However, recently, it has been facing serious issues.’
Furthermore, it is written on the board, 'Rhododendron is a species that cannot grow quickly. Due to extensive use of its trees as firewood in the Himalayan region, annual forest fires, climate change, and reckless plucking of its blossoms and branches, its survival has reached the verge of extinction.’
‘Rhododendron plays a vital role in maintaining the balance of the mid-hill and Himalayan ecosystem. It helps retain soil moisture and serves as a primary food source for various species of birds. Not only that, but during the rhododendron flowering season, it attracts both domestic and international tourists, thereby greatly contributing to the local tourism industry and economy.’
Various organizations have voiced their concerns, claiming that momentary entertainment, a few thousand likes, and breaking the branch of a rhododendron that takes years to grow and blooms only once a year in the name of going viral on TikTok is similar to destroying nature.
पछिल्लो अध्यावधिक: चैत ६, २०८२ १४:५८
