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Elsevier

Journals in Sustainable development

  • Ecological Engineering

    • ISSN: 0925-8574
    The Journal of Ecosystem RestorationEcologica... engineering has been defined as the design of ecosystems for the mutual benefit of humans and nature. The journal is for those involved in designing, monitoring, or restoring ecosystems, and serves as a bridge between the fields of ecology and engineeringSpecific topics covered in the journal include: habitat reconstruction; ecotechnology; synthetic ecology; bioengineering; restoration ecology; ecology conservation; ecosystem rehabilitation; stream and river restoration; reclamation ecology; non-renewable resource conservation. Descriptions of specific applications of ecological engineering are acceptable only when situated within context of adding novelty to current research and emphasizing ecosystem restoration. We do not accept purely descriptive reports on ecosystem structures (such as vegetation surveys), purely physical assessment of materials that can be used for ecological restoration, small-model studies carried out in the laboratory or greenhouse with artificial (waste)water or crop studies, or case studies on conventional wastewater treatment and eutrophication that do not offer an ecosystem restoration approach within the paper.The journal welcomes full papers, short communications, reviews, and letters to the editor. We are pleased to publish papers from multidisciplinary approaches that are pertinent to a wide range of scholars, managers, practitioners, and policymakers across ecological sciences.All papers will be subject to peer review and they will be dealt with as speedily as is compatible with a high standard of presentation.
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  • Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability

    • ISSN: 1877-3435
    Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability aims to define the new innovative sustainability science discipline by integrating perspectives from the natural and the social sciences on human-environment interactions and management challenges across regional and global systems. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability thus emphasizes interdisciplinary sustainability research approaches, the solutions it provides and their dissemination and application.Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability aims to stimulate scientifically grounded, interdisciplinary, multi-faceted debate, synthesis and exchange of ideas. Additionally, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability will continue to publish papers on strategic research plans and key findings of leading global-change research networks, it thus serves as an invaluable source of current peer-reviewed and synthesized information for researchers, lecturers, teachers, practitioners, policy makers and students.Most of the issues published by the journal are invited Special Issues addressing current themes around major global-change systems and problems, the emerging new transdisciplinary sustainability science, sustainability governance and transformation, environmental change assessments, international initiatives, as well as more philosophical reflection on approaches to sustainability challenges. Once a year, we publish an Open Issue, which offers an opportunity for authors working on diverse topics to submit an abstract for consideration. In collaboration with the International Science Council (ISC), COSUST also includes a section dedicated to the 'State of Knowledge on Social Transformations to Sustainability', which consist of original or existing peer-reviewed papers, reviewing knowledge on various dimensions of social transformations to sustainability and drawing out implications for research, practice or policy (https://www.journal... of Special Issues and Guest Editors: We welcome proposals for Special Issues consisting of (1) an overview of the theme, and a motivation why it is timely and innovative, and justifies publication in the journal; (2) a list of proposed topics and names of selected authors. As the journal is international, we aim to commission a mixture of nationalities and disciplines with consideration to gender and regions less covered, but obviously the quality of authors and their review is paramount. Proposals that where possible have the first and second choices of authors (with contact details where possible); (3) a short, two-line, description of the intended scope of each review.Working with the Editors of the journal, Guest Editors, who are major authorities in the field, are responsible for inviting authors, reviewing and organizing themes within a special issue.Please contact your Editorial Manager by email if you have any questions, Ms. Alison Langestraat a.langestraat@elsevi... articles: Authors write short review and/or synthesis articles supported by recent literature in which they present recent developments in their subject and emerging topics, emphasizing the aspects that, in their opinion, are most important. In addition, they provide short annotations to the papers that they consider to be most interesting from all those published in their topic over the previous year.
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  • Groundwater for Sustainable Development

    • ISSN: 2352-801X
    Groundwater for Sustainable Development is an international, interdisciplinary journal dedicated to advancing the science, management, governance, and protection of groundwater resources in support of sustainable, resilient societies and ecosystems.Groundwat... is fundamental to water, energy and food security, human health, economic development, ecosystem functioning, and adaptation to climate variability and change. At the same time, groundwater systems worldwide face increasing pressures from overexploitation, contamination, land-use change, urbanization, climate change, seawater intrusion, and competing demands. Addressing these challenges requires approaches that connect hydrogeological understanding with environmental, technological, socioeconomic, institutional, and policy dimensions.The journal provides a global platform for high-quality research that improves understanding of groundwater systems and translates scientific knowledge into effective solutions for their sustainable use, protection, restoration, and governance. It places particular emphasis on studies that clearly demonstrate relevance to groundwater sustainability, provide methodological or conceptual advances, and generate insights transferable beyond a single study area.The journal welcomes research on:Groundwater resources and aquifer systems: occurrence, recharge, storage, flow, discharge, groundwater–surface water interactions, aquifer characterization, water balances, and resource assessment.Groundwat... quality and hydrogeochemistry: natural and anthropogenic controls on groundwater chemistry, geogenic contaminants, salinization, seawater intrusion, nutrients, trace elements, emerging contaminants, pathogens, and processes affecting groundwater quality.Groundwater contamination and remediation: contaminant sources, transport and fate, vulnerability and risk assessment, remediation technologies, natural attenuation, and prevention and management strategies.Groundwat... sustainability and resource management: sustainable abstraction, groundwater depletion and recovery, water-use efficiency, conjunctive use, demand management, groundwater allocation, and strategies for balancing human and environmental water needs.Climate change, drought, and groundwater resilience: impacts of climate variability and change on recharge, storage, quality, availability, and groundwater-dependen... systems; groundwater drought; extreme events; and the role of aquifer management, and policy response in climate adaptation and water-security strategies.Managed aquifer recharge and groundwater replenishment: MAR, aquifer storage and recovery, water banking, nature-based recharge solutions, recharge enhancement, water reuse, and assessment of their technical, environmental, economic, and societal performance.Groundwa... ecosystems and environmental flows: interactions among groundwater, rivers, wetlands, springs, terrestrial ecosystems, biodiversity, and ecosystem services, including approaches for their protection and restoration.Groundwa... agriculture, cities, industry, and energy: groundwater within food–water–energy–ec... systems, irrigation and agricultural productivity, urban groundwater, industrial water use, subsurface energy systems, geothermal energy, hot and cold water relation, and competing sectoral demands.Groundwater governance, policy, economics, and society: institutions, regulation, groundwater rights and allocation, economic instruments, social-ecological systems, community-based management, equity, environmental justice, stakeholder participation, transboundary aquifers, and the political economy of groundwater.Groundwa... and human health: exposure to groundwater contaminants, drinking-water security, health-risk assessment, and interdisciplinary approaches connecting groundwater quality with public health.Monitoring, modeling, and emerging technologies: field and sensor-based monitoring, numerical and conceptual modeling, remote sensing, geophysics, environmental tracers and isotopes, artificial intelligence and machine learning, data assimilation, digital tools, decision-support systems, and other innovative methods that provide demonstrable advances in groundwater understanding or management.Solutions... interventions, and implementation: evaluation of groundwater-manageme... measures, adaptation strategies, successful and unsuccessful interventions, implementation barriers, trade-offs, scalability, and evidence-based pathways toward sustainable groundwater systems.Article expectations:The journal particularly encourages studies that move beyond site description to provide new scientific understanding, methodological innovation, management relevance, or transferable lessons. Case studies are welcome when they address a clearly defined scientific or sustainability question and demonstrate relevance beyond the specific study area.Interdisciplina... and transdisciplinary research connecting groundwater science with engineering, ecology, climate science, public health, economics, governance, and the social sciences is strongly encouraged.Studies based primarily on routine groundwater-quality characterization, standard water-quality indices, conventional GIS overlay methods, or the application of established models or machine-learning algorithms without clear methodological innovation, process understanding, validation, or broader sustainability significance are generally outside the journal's priority scope. Also, the development of new water treatment materials or processes with limited relevance to groundwater is beyond scope.Groundwater for Sustainable Development seeks to connect science, policy, and solutions, supporting evidence-based pathways toward groundwater systems that are environmentally sustainable, socially equitable, economically viable, and resilient to future change.
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  • Environmental Development

    • ISSN: 2211-4645
    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.Environme... 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.Environm... 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.Submission... 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.
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  • Environmental Impact Assessment Review

    • ISSN: 0195-9255
    Environmental Impact Assessment Review (EIA Review) is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal serving a global community of academics, practitioners, policymakers, and regulators engaged with impact assessment (IA) theory and practice. As defined by the International Association for Impact Assessment (iaia.org), impact assessment is a transformative process that informs and guides decisions and actions by governments, businesses, and individuals — aiming to maximize positive outcomes and minimize negative effects in support of sustainable development.Since its mandatory introduction in the United States under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on January 1, 1970, IA has become one of the world's most widely adopted environmental policy tools. In the decades since, a broad range of IA policies, tools, and procedures has emerged, spanning multiple sustainability dimensions and objectives.IA is now used across public and private sectors worldwide. What began as a forward-looking procedure for predicting impacts at the project and strategic level has grown into a broad theoretical and applied field, encompassing ex-ante, ex-post, life-cycle, and ecological evaluations of projects, policies, plans, programs, areas, ecosystems, products, materials, and services.For EIA Review, IA covers assessment of impacts on or of the environment — including Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) — as well as Social Impact Assessment (SIA), Health Impact Assessment (HIA), Risk Assessment (RA), Economic Impact Assessment (EIC), climate change assessment, ecosystem assessment, natural resource assessment, etc.The journal publishes impactful studies grounded in innovative theory and practice across these areas, including but not limited to:Impact assessment theories and innovative assessment and decision-making methodologies: e.g., theory building and testing for EIA/SEA and cumulative effects assessment (CEA), novel predictive assessment models, multi‑criteria system evaluation, quantification of energy values and ecosystem services, and optimized approaches to environmental decision-making, including algorithms for cost‑benefit analysis (CBA).Impact assessment regulations, governance regimes and institutional comparisons: e.g., national environmental legislative procedures, approval and supervision mechanisms, regional and national EIA reforms, comparative analyses of different EIA systems, and empirical studies on public participation within EIA governance.Strategic environmental assessment and territorial‑spatial planning evaluation: e.g., SEA for land development, industrial parks and regional planning, quantitative measurement of ecological constraints in territorial space, and effectiveness tracking for planned EIA implementation.Life Cycle Assessment and carbon‑footprint accounting: e.g., product life‑cycle environmental impacts, industrial‑scale carbon‑footprint calculation, energy‑value analysis for energy systems, and integrated environmental‑benefi... evaluation for the circular economy.Integrated cross‑impact assessments: e.g., Social Impact Assessment, Health Impact Assessment, Landscape impact evaluation, Human‑rights‑related equity considerations, integrated climate‑risk assessment (RIA), and coupled models for multi‑dimensional composite impacts.Ecological conservation and natural‑resource assessment: e.g., biodiversity impact assessment, quantitative evaluation of watershed and forest ecosystem impacts, ecological gains and losses induced by land‑use change, and supporting‑tool development for ecological compensation.Green industry, supply‑chain and environmental management: e.g., corporate environmental‑manage... systems, supply‑chain sustainability assessment, environmental‑risk mitigation for large‑scale infrastructure and energy projects, and supporting evaluation mechanisms for green finance.Systematic reviews and meta‑analyses related to impact assessment: e.g., evidence synthesis of comprehensive IA practices, critical reviews of assessment methodologies, mapping of global EA research trends, and development of forward‑looking research frameworks.Manuscrip... ExpectationsEIA Review is an international journal with a global readership; manuscripts should be contextualized to address geographical and political issues relevant to a broad audience. The journal accepts original research that may adopt a case-study design but does not accept papers that merely report or describe IA case studies applying existing methods within a single jurisdiction without wider learning points. Case studies must explicitly demonstrate innovative theory or practice and offer clear value to an international readership.Despite its title, EIA Review is not limited to review articles. The journal welcomes three manuscript types: Full-Length Article, Review Article, and Opinion Paper. "Review" in the journal's name refers to its blind peer-review process — a minimum of two reviewers — which ensures every publication is reliable, insightful, innovative, topical, and coherent.The journal receives far more submissions than it can accept. Manuscripts within scope may still be desk-rejected for insufficient novelty or unclear potential to advance the field.Authors are encouraged to review recent articles in the journal to understand how the editorial team evaluates potential manuscripts concerning their innovation, contribution and approach.
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  • Waste Management

    • ISSN: 0956-053X
    Waste Management is devoted to the presentation and discussion of information on all aspects of solid waste and by-product management, under the framework of a circular economy and waste as a resource in order to close the loop. These aspects include generation, composition, collection, resource recovery and valorization (treatment), and final disposal. Also, the journal accepts manuscripts that address waste management policy, education, economic and environmental assessments (LCAs), artificial intelligence applications on solid waste management. Moreover, the journal accepts submissions on new solid waste management technologies, successful full-scale applications and Best Available Techniques examples. The journal addresses various types of solid wastes, namely: municipal (e.g., household, institutional, and commercial), agricultural, hazardous household, hazardous and non-hazardous industrial, construction and demolition, and healthcare waste, as well as dewatered sludges, spent batteries and accumulators, used vehicle tires, end of life vehicles, waste electrical and electronic equipment, textile waste, and other special solid waste streams. Note that Waste Management does not accept manuscripts focusing primarily on social or behavioral science aspects (e.g. surveys) or purely bibliometric studies. Manuscripts that focus solely on the characterization and 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 (e.g. construction and building materials, materials science, polymer science journals). Finally, 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. 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 within the solid waste management field:Minimization, generation, composition (including material flow analyses)Novel technologies in storage, collection, transport, and transferResource and energy recovery (mechanical, biological, chemical, thermal treatment, biorefining, etc.)Novel aspects in final disposal and landfilling Artificial intelligence applications (identification, sorting, process optimization, etc.)Environmental assessments (including LCA, S-LCA)Economic assessments (including LCC)Policy, legislation and planningBest practices and full-scale applications
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  • Resources, Conservation & Recycling

    • ISSN: 0921-3449
    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.Contributio... 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:Transformati... 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.Technica... 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.Substitutio... 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.editoria... encourage those interested in organizing a special issue or a virtual special issue within the scope of the journal to contact Prof. Zhi Cao for more information. Additionally, we encourage potential organizers to carefully review the relevant requirements in the Guide for Authors before proceeding. Please note that each special issue can only accept up to three guest editors (GEs).
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