The scheme is one of a number developed by Biodiversity Information Standards particularly aimed at taxonomic databases.[2] The starting point was the "need for an agreed system of geographical units at approximately 'country' level and upwards for use in recording plant distributions".[1] The scheme represents a compromise between political and botanical divisions.[3] All boundaries either follow a political boundary (country boundary, province boundary, etc.), or coastlines.[1] The scheme also aims to follow botanical tradition, in terms of the distribution categories used in works like the Flora Europaea, Flora Malesiana, or Med-Checklist.[4] This approach occasionally leads to departures from political boundaries.