The Transdisciplinary Journal of SCOPEEnvironmental Development is a transdisciplinary, future-oriented journal focused on research and practices that contribute to globally relevant environment and development issues at local and regional scales.The immense task of reversing deteriorating environmental trends attributable to unsustainable development practices requires globally relevant solutions at the local and regional scale. Strategies to address the impediments to sustainable development include mitigation of climate change, adaptation to its impacts, and innovative responses to the problems of over-consumption or failures to manage the negative impacts of economic activities.Environmental Development provides a channel for theoretical knowledge contributions and empirical, practice-based applications addressing issues related to the environmental dimension of sustainable development. Environmental Development is interested in bold and innovative research applications, methods and practices that balance the need for development with the long term needs of society and the natural environment. The journal seeks to provide a platform for scientific and experiential knowledge exchange among researchers, development practitioners, policy professionals, and communities working at the interface of research and society. With its interest in research and practices that contribute to globally relevant environment and development issues at local and regional scales, the journal offers an international forum for research, communication, discussion and global action on environmental development.Environmental Development publishes research that strengthens the collaboration between the developed and developing world and links environmental research to broader issues of economic and social-cultural development. Environmental Development serves as a reference resource for information and learning from established and emerging researchers, strengthening the connections among fundamental research, policy development and applications in environmental management. Environmental Development is open to a broad range of disciplines and authors. The journal welcomes contributions from a younger generation of researchers, and papers expanding the trans- and interdisciplinary frontiers of the environmentally relevant sciences.All submissions to Environmental Development are reviewed using the criteria of quality, originality, precision and coherence, clarity of exposition, and the importance of the topic and insights, in accordance with the Journal's aims and scope. New insights and approaches to environmental development that contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are welcomed. The long-term implications for society and the natural environment are of deep and abiding interest.Each submission should be accompanied by a covering letter to the editor (see instructions to authors). In addition, the letter should:address the societal and scientific relevance of the manuscript in the context of environmental development, i.e. explain how the submission aligns with the aims and scope.explain why the submission can be considered trans- or interdisciplinary, andclarify how the local or regional issue is scalable, globally applicable and/or has policy, management or practical relevance.Submissions to the journal may be rejected based on an internal review by the Editors-in-Chief under the general category, "out-of-scope" if they fail to satisfy one or more of the above set of criteria. Other reasons why this may occur include:The submission is exclusively (bio)technical without a case-based application or thorough consideration of policy or practice implications.The submission is an (nominally environmental) econometric analysis.The methods in literature review submissions are inadequately described.Data sources are not clearly documented and/or are uncited.Research involving human subjects has not demonstrably adhered to ethical standards (see instructions to authors).The grammar and spelling do not meet academic standards.The submission is insufficiently novel or innovative.The following categories of submission are invited (see guide for authors) : Original research papers, original reviews of literature, perspective articles and letters to the Editor.The journal will consider hosting special issues with guest editors or an organised series of papers on a focused area of research. However, assessment of applications for these will be based on the quality and fit of an existing set of abstracts (or papers), or a pre-determined set of author contributions. Arrangements to publish a Special Issue may be negotiated with the organisers of a planned event, conference or workshop aligned with the scope of Environmental Development. Speculative proposals for special issues will not be considered. For more information, and to submit a proposed Special Issue please complete this Application form and submit it to the Commissioning Editor.Since the total number of annual submissions to the journal continues to grow rapidly, we will not be able to provide detailed explanations of reasons for desk rejection of individual submissions. Once a manuscript has been accepted for peer review, we will do our utmost to expedite the review process and inform authors of the outcome as quickly as possible.
Environmental Impact Assessment Review (EIA Review) is a refereed, interdisciplinary journal serving a global audience of practitioners, policy-makers, regulators, academics and others with an interest in the field of impact assessment (IA) and management. Impact assessment is defined by the International Association for Impact Assessment (www.iaia.org) as the process of identifying the future consequences of a current or proposed action.For EIA Review, the field of IA can be related to as the assessment of impacts on or of the environment (including, for example, EIA and SEA), social (SIA), health (HIA), risk (RIA), human rights, equity, language, technology, products, etc. With current or proposed actions, the EIA Review audience assesses how best to evaluate the impacts of policies, projects, processes and products, and how best to make decisions and undertake management activities.The focus of EIA Review is on innovative theory and practice that encompasses any of the above mentioned impacts and activities. In other words, EIA Review covers the following topics (the list is not exhaustive):• Development of IA theory and concepts; • IA legislation, procedure and practice; • IA Governance; • IA Methods, for example, forecasting, indicators, systems-based approaches, ecosystem services assessment, cost benefit analysis, algorithms, network-based approaches, among others; • Life Cycle Assessment, Carbon Footprinting, Energy Analysis, Emergy Analysis, and Integrated Product Policy; • Environmental Management Systems.Despite its name EIA Review is not restricted to review articles. However, it aims to publish only contributions that are innovative, topical and coherent and submissions are judged on these criteria by one of the editors, in consultation with an international advisory board. All submissions go through a blind peer-review process using a minimum of two reviewers prior to acceptance.EIA Review does accept original research that might adopt a case study design or methodology, but it does not accept reports or descriptions solely of IA case studies that use existing methods (i.e. not innovative) in a single jurisdiction context with no wider learning points. Thus case studies are welcome where they explicitly demonstrate innovative theory or practice, and where there is a clear value to an international audience.Authors are encouraged to consider recent articles in the journal to get a sense of how the editorial team judges potential manuscripts in terms of their innovation, contribution and approach.
Aims & Scope and Article TypesThe journal offers a platform for reporting studies of innovations and socio-economic transitions to enhance an environmentally sustainable economy and thus solve structural resource scarcity and environmental problems, notably related to fossil energy use and climate change. This involves attention for technological, organizational, economic, institutional and political innovations as well as economy-wide and sector changes, such as in the areas of energy, transport, agriculture and water management. The journal aims to tackle the most difficult questions, dealing with social, economic, behavioral-psychological and political barriers and opportunities as well as their complex interaction. The journal is multidisciplinary in spirit and methodologically open, and invites contributions from a broad range of disciplines within the social, environmental and innovation sciences.Specific research areas covered include: Theoretical analysis, formal modeling, empirical studies, policy discussion and a critical survey of relevant literature. Practical cases may address transitions in specific sectors, cities or regions. Articles on historical transitions not specifically related to environment and sustainability are welcome if they include a section with unique lessons for sustainability transitions. A non-exhaustive list of keywords and themes is as follows: behavior in line with bounded rationality, development theories, diffusion of innovations, environmental regulation, formal modeling, geography of innovations, historical transitions, increasing returns to scale and path dependence, innovation policy, institutional barriers, international cooperation and coordination, learning-by-doing, learning curves, lock-in, new governance, niche markets, optimal technological diversity, regime analysis, social and political power, strategic niche management, rebound effect, recombinant innovation, sector structure, social learning, transition experiments, technological regimes, transition pathways/mechanisms, vested interests, visions of the future.Article types in EIST All submissions to Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions are reviewed using the general criteria of quality, originality, precision, importance of topic and insights, clarity of exposition, and fit to the journal's aims and scope. Several categories of articles are welcome.Research articles (max. 8000 words, excluding references and figure/table captions) Research articles devoted to theoretical, modeling, experimental, historical and empirical-quantitative analysis of important questions in the field. The journal also accepts qualitative case study research (historical, institutional, geographical, organizational, etc.). Furthermore, it is open to studies opposing different views and explaining fundamental differences in long-standing debates (such as on growth, the role of price instruments and the role of voluntary action). Evaluated by two or three outside reviewers.Reviews (max. 10,000 words excluding references) The journal occasionally publishes articles that review, critically examine and interpret important general subject areas within the wider scope of the journal. These articles need to use systematic and good quality methodology and data sources, and result in insightful synthesis. They are based on reviews of previous scientific research, not of other types of data (e.g. policy documents). Evaluated by two or three outside reviewers.Perspectives (generally 2000 to 4000 words excluding references) provide an opportunity for authors to present a novel or distinctive viewpoint on any subject within the journal's scope, with a strong focus on current advances and future directions in transition studies, including policy recommendations. They may be opinionated but should remain balanced and are intended to stimulate discussion and new approaches. Perspectives may also advocate a controversial position, present a speculative hypothesis, introduce or critique new concepts in the field of transition studies, or mark something significant in current affairs. Perspectives are reviewed by the editorial team and one external commentator.Policy briefings (generally 1500-2000 words excluding references) serve the purpose of building connections between the sustainability transitions research community and the policy and practice of sustainability transitions. A policy brief serves to develop elaborate policy or practice recommendations based on conducted academic research and/or to provide reflections on recent developments in the policy and practice of sustainability transitions. Policy briefings will have a substantial engagement with real-world practice of sustainability transitions, are not expected to discuss methodologies, are embedded in academic debate, and are generally written as a personal commentary. Policy briefings are reviewed by at least two editors.Special issues (SI) The journal is open to SIs addressing themes congruent with the topical focus of the journal. They need to identify an important gap in the current transition related literature, which requires a variety of complementary perspectives to be addressed. SIs consist of coherent and high-quality collections of scholarly contributions. Please send a proposal to the editor-in-chief including the following items: title, guest editors (names, positions, affiliations and short bio), a short summary (research gap, contribution intended by the SI, a list of relevant research questions, which shall be covered by the different papers in the SI, approaches and innovative character) and a list of potential contributions (with authors, affiliations, titles and short abstract). In general, we are reluctant to publish SIs that remain restricted to results of specific research programs and we expect the guest editors to include an open call for contributions.
The journal Resources, Conservation & Recycling welcomes contributions from research, which consider sustainable management and conservation of resources. The journal emphasizes the transformation processes involved in a transition toward more sustainable production and consumption systems. Emphasis is upon technological, economic, institutional and policy aspects of specific resource management practices, such as conservation, recycling and resource substitution, and of "systems-wide" strategies, such as resource productivity improvement, the restructuring of production and consumption profiles and the transformation of industry.Contributions may have relevance at regional, national or international scales and may focus at any level of research from individual resources or technologies to whole sectors or systems of interest. Contributors may emphasise any of the aforementioned aspects as well as scientific and methodological issues. However, manuscripts that consider only laboratory experiments, without a discussion of the practical, environmental and economic implications of the presented research, are excluded from publication in the journal.The journal publishes papers, reviews, analyses and case studies on topics, which include:Transformation of the industrial and societal system towards more sustainable production and consumption patterns, including management, instruments, methods and processes of change.Information and management systems involving resource status, use and material flows in society.Innovation processes, tools and methods relating to resource productivity improvement.Technical, societal, economic, business and policy aspects of strategies to improve the sustainability and productivity of resource use, including strategies for managing resource supply and demand, valorizing waste, lowering energy and material intensities and increasing the serviceability of products.Substitution of primary resources by renewable or regenerative alternatives, including agricultural and forest resources and wastes.Material flow analysis and the understanding of resource use and flows in society and the impact on the environment, including resource extraction and waste generation.Life cycle assessment and management of resources, materials and products to improve resource efficiency and productivity, conserve resources and reduce pollution.Societal, economic and technological change for improved recovery and reuse of materials and energy from domestic, commercial or industrial waste streams.Efficient management and use of all resources, including air and water, with regard to the qualitative as well as quantitative aspects of resource use.Resources, Conservation & Recycling has a Golden Open Access companion journal Resources, Conservation & Recycling Advances which features an independent editorial board and a separate peer-review process. To submit to Resources, Conservation & Recycling Advances, please visit https://www.editorialmanager.com/rcradv/default.aspx.
International Journal of Integrated Waste Management, Science and TechnologyWaste Management is devoted to the presentation and discussion of information on solid waste generation, characterization, minimization, collection, separation, treatment, and disposal, as well as manuscripts that address waste management policy, education, and economic and environmental assessments. The journal addresses various types of solid wastes including municipal (e.g., residential, institutional, and commercial), agricultural, and special (e.g., hazardous household, hazardous and non-hazardous industrial, construction and demolition, sewage sludge, healthcare and medical) wastes. Mining, metallurgical and radioactive wastes are not in the scope of the journal.The journal welcomes both fundamental and applied research that can be related to problems of interest to solid waste researchers, practitioners and/or policy makers. Well documented case studies will be considered but they must describe results that can be applied beyond the specific location of the case study. Manuscripts that focus on the use of a waste material in a new product are often more suitable for a journal that focuses on the material properties of the product. In considering whether a manuscript is suitable for publication in Waste Management, consider whether the information is of potential use to solid waste researchers, practitioners and/or policymakers.The following are some of the major areas in which papers are solicited:Generation and characterizationMinimizationRecycling and reuseStorage, collection, transport, and transferTreatment (mechanical, biological, chemical, thermal, other)Landfill disposalEnvironmental assessments (including LCA and S-LCA)Economic analysis (including LCC)Policy and regulationsPlanningNew and emerging issues and technologiesWaste Management will not be accepting proposals for new Special Issues (SI) anymore. The new Special Issue topics and contents will be arranged and announced by the editorial team of WM. Interested authors are welcome to contribute articles.