Conflict between traditional European plant taxonomy and conservation in the tropics - an urgent need for change <B>Conflict between traditional European plant taxonomy and conservation in the tropics - an urgent need for change</B><P> </B><EM><B></B></EM><B>Ruth Kiew</B><BR> Department of Biology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia<P> The realities of rapid change in land use in tropical countries with high biodiversity present a challenge to the traditional practice of plant taxonomy in Europe. Original data from the Conservation of Limestone Flora of Malaysia Project shows that in general traditional taxonomy is not meeting the needs of conservation because publication is too slow, specimens are not always distributed to local herbaria and links with local institutes and organisations may not exist. Strategies to overcome this include establishing self-funding biodiversity units in European herbaria, rapid publication of names of new taxa and combinations, non-traditional methods of publication for checklists, and the strengthening of a world-wide network of taxonomists and herbaria.<P>