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03-societal_impact_statement.md

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 # Societal impact statement
 
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+Primary data on plant occurrence - what plant exists where and when - provide the basic information necessary to study past, present and future distribution and diversity, facilitating research into a wide range of societal challenges from food security to climate change mitigation. The name of a plant is the key to information about it  and  is attached to a type specimen which allows the unambiguous naming of plants. Rapid open access to type and other specimens can greatly support research and conservation planning.  Two thousand species are described each year and many of these are narrowly endemic to a particular area and likely to be threatened.   However, in the period 2012 to 2021, less than a quarter of new names of plants are available  in open access publications, and less than 12%  of type specimens are made digitally available from the countries from where they are collected.  We make several recommendations to increase open access to this vital information necessary to support prompt conservation action and future research.