Environmental Science & Policy advances research in the intersections between environmental science, policy and society. The journal invites scholarship within this broad thematic that fits with one or more of the following four focal areas: 1) Studies of the relationship between the production and use of knowledge in decision making; 2) Studies of the relation between science and other forms of environmental knowledge, including practical, local and indigenous knowledge; 3) Analyses of decision making practices in government, civil society, and businesses and the ways that they engage environmental knowledge; or 4) Studies that present actionable environmental research with a clear description of how it responds to specific policy directives and the pathways by which this research is informing (or could inform) decision-making. Research can address a wide number of environmental issues, such as climate change, food systems, biodiversity loss, human and ecological well-being, resource use- and extraction, land use change, and sustainability more generally. The journal aspires to achieve an appropriate balance between perspectives from the global North as well as the global South and welcomes discussions of (environmental) justice, equity and inclusion. The journal is particularly interested in cutting edge developments in inter- and transdisciplinary work on co-production; arts-based research; integrated nexus and landscape approaches; the trade-offs and synergies between environmental issues and policies; innovations in integrated assessment, monitoring and evaluation; and transitions and transformative change.Editorial Policy: Submitted articles can offer empirical analysis and can also advance new theory, conceptual frameworks or other innovations. To be considered for publication, articles should fit with the aims and scope of the journal. This means that they should address the relation between environmental science and knowledge, policy and society. To be considered, environmental research articles must go beyond simply stating potential societal and policy relevance. Submitted articles should be of international relevance and well embedded in relevant scholarly conversations and debates, and they should consider the scholarship that has been published in the journal. They should provide a compelling objective and specify how they advance the state of the knowledge beyond the current state of the art. In-depth case studies or local issues may be considered if articles clearly and sufficiently articulate their wider international significance.The journal will consider the following article types: research papers, reviews, perspectives, and letters to the editor. Specific requirements and guidance for each article type can be found in the guide for authors. The journal welcomes proposals or Special Issues, guidance for preparing and submitting a proposal can be found here. Authors should not submit to a special issue unless they have explicit approval by the managing guest editor of the special issue.Benefits to Authors: We also provide many author benefits, such as free PDFs, a liberal copyright policy, special discounts on Elsevier publications and much more. Please click here for more information on our author services.Please see our Guide for Authors for information on article submission. If you require any further information or help, please visit our Support Center
Water Security aims to publish papers that contribute to a better understanding of the economic, social, biophysical, technological, ecological and institutional influencers of current and future global water security. This includes cross cutting themes that highlight the intersection between climate and water, energy, and food security, as well as biodiversity and ecosystem functions. At the same time the journal intends to stimulate debate, backed by science, with strong interdisciplinary connections. The goal is to publish concise and timely reviews, synthesis articles, and on occasion original research articles about research covering the following elements of water security:• Shortage • Flooding • Drought • Governance • Health and Sanitation • Ecosystems and Ecology • Water systems and infrastructureShorta... Reviews should reflect on the ever-changing mosaic of water shortage, that is, variations in availability and the mismatch between availability, on the one hand, and access and demand for ever more water, on the other. Reviews may scrutinize concepts, models, sets of data, etc. that have been used, what results have been achieved, what kind of understanding is missing and reliability and validity of results. Reviews are welcome of the links between academic and other kinds of knowledge systems, e.g. research from the corporate sector (that has considerable research capacity) and how the (joint) understanding evolves about significant challenges and how to deal with them, like competition, conflict, collaboration and how to best use the varying water resources.Flooding This includes all types of flooding, such as coastal floods, river floods, flash floods or glacier outburst floods, and encompasses the causes, development and impacts of flood events. Contributions scrutinize the understanding and quantification of flood hazard, exposure and vulnerability, the interactions and feedbacks between different components, and the dynamic nature of flood risk systems. Emerging issues, such as large-scale and long-term consequences of flooding, e.g. via supply chain interruptions, are covered. The variety of risk reduction measures from precautionary measures, forecasting and early warning to emergency measures and reconstruction, and how these measures are embedded in the political, cultural and economic context are reflected. Reviews on the uncertainty and validation of risk assessments given the scarcity of observations about extreme events are of particular interest.Drought From a water security perspective, drought is considered as a persistent shortage of water relative to the usual water demand in a region. This is not the same definition that is often used by meteorological or hydrological drought indices that measure strictly a decline in the potential water supply. The consequences of drought are important from a water security perspective and hence we welcome papers that look at the challenges posed by drought to municipal, agricultural, industrial or ecological function, and how these are resolved to achieve water security.Governance Water security is conditioned by institutions, policy, and management. This theme primarily addresses human dimensions of water security in relation to surface water, groundwater, wastewater, and desalination. It considers politics, economics and finance, access, social equity, ethics, risk, adaptation, ecosystem services, and related topics. Because water, energy, food, ecosystems, and climate security are inextricably linked, this theme also addresses nexus challenges.Health and Sanitation Reviews within this theme explore linkages between public health and the quality, quantity, and reliability of water supplies, as well as the public-health impacts of excreta and wastewater management and re-use. It also intersects with the themes of shortage and flooding by focusing on the public-health impacts of both extreme events and gradual shifts in climate. Reviews within this theme may also explore more indirect water security-health connections, such as the public health impacts of productive water use, conflict over water resources, and water source development.Ecosyste... and Ecology The ecological dimensions of water security include the role of natural and managed ecosystems in the water cycle and water resources as well as the impact of water resource management (quantity and quality) on downstream ecosystem services from headwaters to deltas and estuaries. The biophysical, biodiversity, socio-economic, health and livelihood dimensions of sharing water between humans and nature is an overarching framework. Reviews and evidence and case-study supported synthesis are invited.Water systems and infrastructure Water and wastewater infrastructure are critical to address variations in water supply and quality, and for flood control, and hence central to any discussion of water security. Aging infrastructure concerns dominate the water security of many developed countries, and inadequate infrastructure provision dominates the lack of water security in many developing countries. The goal of this theme is to create a synthesis of the challenges and the 21st century directions to address the infrastructure gap, and to consider the architecture (e.g., decentralized, distributed or centralized storage and treatment systems) as it contributes to current and future water security. Identifying water system financing and governance mechanisms and the associated bottlenecks would also make useful contributions.Water Security is published 3 times a year; April, August and December.
