The International Working Group on Taxonomic Databases for Plant Sciences (also known as TDWG) has been a unique force in developing data standards for botanical information. Their efforts have produced the ability to move data among many participating computer installations. At an upcoming TDWG meeting in Delphi, Greece, an international assemblage of botanists, information specialists, and computer scientists will collaborate on a design for a global information system for the plant sciences. They will draft an action plan and specifications for efforts that will extend over the next decade and potentially span all countries of the world. Access to information on plants, their geographic distribution, and their ecology and taxonomy is critical to many fields. Biologists, land use planners, political economists, and even the military have long-term needs for accurate data concerning plants. Except for the efforts of TDWG, most of the energy expended on botanical data have been at the level of single institutions, such as an herbarium, botanical garden, or agriculture department within a university. The Delphi symposium will capitalize on these efforts, and set a productive new course for global collaboration.
