Instructions for contributors
Various fora have expressed a need for case studies that demonstrate where taxonomy (or the lack of it) has had profound impacts on society. Participants at BioNET’s Third Global Taxonomy Workshop (Paris, 2002) proposed a solution: to call for, and make available online as many case studies as possible to be used by anyone needing good examples of why taxonomy is important, for example when submitting proposals for funding, talking to decision-makers, etc..

Aim
The summary case studies need to show either

• how taxonomic knowledge and resources have been used to meet the needs of society, or
• how the lack of taxonomic resources and information has led to poor decision-making, negatively affecting society in some way.

Where possible, case studies should quantify the economic benefit of having taxonomy or the economic impact of a lack of taxonomy.

Case studies should NOT depict taxonomy as such, e.g. new advances in taxonomy, new taxonomic research, taxonomic problems solved.

Distribution and copyright
The submitted case studies will be made freely available on-line. Submission of material expressly acknowledges it will be non-copyright. Case study authors are requested to identify their source(s).

Deadline
The call is open-ended.

Instructions to contributors

1. Length: Clear and informative title. State any impacts, positive or negative, in the title if possible
2. Title: Provide both (a) a short non-technical title of no more than 10 words; (b) a longer descriptive title of no more than 20 words.
3. Problem statement: Describe the specific (non-taxonomic) problem or question that was addressed (i.e., the societal issue).
4. Methods: Include a non-technical statement of methods and procedures used. Specify taxonomic approach and applications used.
5. Outcomes and impacts: Describe the most significant results using non-technical language.
6. Lessons: Describe the main benefits/impacts to society of taxonomy/lack of taxonomy.
7. References: Cite up to three key reference documents/websites.
8. Contributor: Provide the name, affiliation, and contact information of the author(s) in a format such as: M. Knapp & F. Haas; icipe – African Insect Science for Food and Health, P.O. Box 30772-00100 Kasarani, Nairobi, Kenya, mknapp@icipe.org, fhaas@icipe.org, http://www.icipe.org.
9. Theme: Clearly specify the thematic area/s, societal sector/s or economic area/s to which your case study applies, e.g. agriculture, invasive alien species, pest management, biological control, pollination, biodiversity conservation, trade, etc. (see the case study search for a list of themes used in previous case studies).
10. Geographic region: Specify in which region/s the activity took place and where the impact was felt, e.g. global, marine, tropics, Australia, South-America, Asia, Africa, etc. (see the case study search for a list of regions used in previous case studies).

Submission
Submit manuscripts to bionet@bionet-intl.org.

Publication
Following review of submitted manuscripts, BioNET's Secretariat will publish the case study here or contact the corresponding author to discuss suggested edits.

Citation
Once published, the following format can be used for citations:
[Contributor(s)], [year]. [Title] Case Study [number] in: R. Smith, K. Rassmann, H. Davies and N. King (eds.), Why Taxonomy Matters, http://www.bionet-intl.org/why. BioNET-INTERNATIONAL, Egham, UK. (Accessed [dd/mm/yy])