TEHRAN -- Iranian intangible cultural heritage and traditional medicine will come up for discussion during a three-day webinar in Tehran. 

Participants will also exchange their views on traditional medicine and knowledge and their roles in society as well as their relation with cultural diversity, biodiversity, and climate diversity.

Organized by Tehran Intangible Cultural Heritage Center, the webinar will be held from March 7 to 9. 

Photography competition and some workshops will be held on the sidelines of the webinar as well, according to organizers. 

Iranian traditional medicine 

According to the analytical report of the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Iran ranked fifth among all participating countries for publication of articles in the field of indigenous pharmacology, traditional medicine, and medicinal plants in 2011-2018. 

So far, about 30,000 plant species are identified in the world, with Iran's share of about 8,000 species that its plant diversity is more than the whole of Europe.

Currently, about 2,300 species of medicinal plants have been identified in the country; while medicinal plants account for one-third of the medicines used in human societies, the share of world trade in these products is about $124 billion and Iran’s share is $570 million, which is only 0.5 percent of the total.

The per capita consumption of medicinal plants in Iran is about one kilogram of dried plants, in other words, 83,000 tons of medicinal plants worth 1.2 trillion rials (around $29 million at the official rate of 42,000 rials) are consumed in the country, while in Europe this amount is 900 grams and in the United States is 2.5 kilograms.

ABU/AFM