Publication ethics

“Journal of Ecology and Sustainability” adheres to the traditional ethical principles of scholarly publishing and follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE – Committee on Publication Ethics), ensuring integrity and ethical standards in academic publishing.

For Authors:

Submission of a manuscript to the editorial office implies the author’s consent for its publication in the Journal of Ecology and Sustainability, as well as for possible translation and republication in other languages. By submitting the manuscript, the author(s) confirm the accuracy of the provided author information, the originality of the manuscript, the absence of plagiarism, and the lawful use of all included materials (text, figures, tables, diagrams, illustrations).

The manuscript must be accompanied by a cover letter signed by the author(s).

Requirements for submitted manuscripts. A manuscript must:

  • be formatted in accordance with the journal’s submission guidelines;
  • not be previously published or under review in another journal;
  • contain original research findings;
  • include only the results produced by the author(s); adding individuals who did not contribute to the research is not allowed;
  • reflect the agreement of all authors regarding submission, authorship order, and publication;
  • cite only peer-reviewed sources that were actually used in the research;
  • include all referenced sources, including the authors’ own earlier works.

For Reviewers:

  • All manuscripts submitted for review are treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not use any part of the manuscript in their own work and may not share the content with third parties without the Editor-in-Chief’s permission;
  • The journal uses a double-blind peer review process. Therefore, the object of review must be the scientific results, not the personal characteristics of the authors;
  • Reviewers must provide an objective evaluation and, if necessary, propose improvements to the manuscript;
  • If a reviewer does not feel qualified to evaluate the manuscript, they must decline the review and notify the editorial office.

For Editors:

The Editor-in-Chief and members of the Editorial Board are obliged to:

  • increase the geographical and institutional diversity of authors by inviting experts from different countries and organizations;
  • ensure the high scientific quality of published materials;
  • participate in editorial board meetings and contribute to decisions regarding the journal’s content.

Editor-in-Chief:

  • assign reviewers (scholars or specialists in the corresponding field) to each manuscript that passes the initial technical check;
  • make the final decision on acceptance or rejection of the manuscript based on the reviewers’ reports and discussion within the Editorial Board;
  • base decisions exclusively on scientific merit and adherence to publication standards.

Editorial Office:

  • works directly with authors and does not cooperate with agencies offering manuscript preparation or publication services;
  • is committed to taking immediate action when unethical behavior is suspected from authors, reviewers, or editors;
  • considers the following as unethical author behavior: falsification of authorship, fabrication or falsification of data, manipulation of citations, plagiarism, and simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to multiple journals;
  • has the right to withdraw a manuscript from consideration and terminate cooperation with the author(s) if unethical behavior is detected during review or pre-publication processing;
  • may retract a published article from the journal website and indexing/archiving databases if unethical behavior is identified after publication, and inform other journals where parallel publication occurred;
  • considers as unethical behavior by reviewers or editors: sharing manuscript content with third parties without permission, breaching confidentiality, violating copyright, or supporting materials in which they have a conflict of interest;
  • must take appropriate measures when complaints regarding reviewed or published materials arise; an explanation must first be requested from the author(s), and further investigation is conducted only if the response is unsatisfactory;
  • follows COPE guidelines for resolving any ethical issues not explicitly addressed in this policy;
  • may publish corrections in subsequent issues if technical errors (e.g., formula mistakes or indicator inaccuracies) are found in published articles;
  • allows the Editor-in-Chief, Editorial Board members, and reviewers to publish in the journal, but they cannot use their position to influence the review process — all manuscripts undergo standard peer review.