About the Journal

About the Journal

African Ecodiversity Systems Journal (AESJ) is a peer-reviewed journal publishing interdisciplinary ecological and biodiversity research relevant to Africa and comparable ecosystems globally. The journal promotes ecosystem conservation, climate resilience, sustainability science, and evidence-based environmental policy.

AESJ encourages integration across ecology and conservation biology, climate science and environmental management, geography, hydrology, earth systems science, and social sciences related to sustainability. The journal prioritizes research articles that are relevant to Africa’s ecological systems and that:

  • Help understand and protect ecosystems and communities;
  • Combine science, policy, and practical solutions;
  • Examine ecological issues from different angles and across borders;
  • Support conservation and climate adaptation efforts;
  • Highlight innovative ideas from Africa, traditional knowledge, and local solutions.

Scope

  • Biodiversity conservation;
  • Climate adaptation and ecosystem restoration;
  • Environmental governance and ecological economics;
  • Geospatial ecology;
  • Freshwater and marine ecosystems;
  • Wildlife ecology and agroecology;
  • Renewable energy sustainability and urban ecology;
  • Indigenous ecological knowledge systems.

Open Access and Licensing

AESJ follows a Gold Open Access model. All published articles are freely accessible without subscription barriers.

To support open-access publishing and editorial operations, an Article Processing Charge (APC) is applied only after peer review and acceptance. Published articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), unless otherwise specified.

AESJ encourages:

  • Open-access ecological data;
  • Community-accessible summaries;
  • Policy translation briefs;
  • Multilingual ecological outreach summaries.

Publication Fee

  • A moderate Article Processing Charge of USD 150 applies upon acceptance;
  • Fee waivers are available for early-career African researchers and low-income institutions;
  • Accepted articles are published online first before issue compilation.

AESJ Distinctive Publishing Philosophy

The African Ecodiversity Systems Journal promotes:

  • African-centered ecological scholarship;
  • Interdisciplinary ecosystem science;
  • Integration of indigenous and scientific knowledge;
  • Policy-responsive environmental research;
  • Practical ecological sustainability solutions.

AESJ particularly values manuscripts that demonstrate measurable ecological relevance and actionable conservation outcomes for African ecosystems and communities.

Publication Ethics and Misconduct

AESJ follows strict publication ethics standards concerning:

  • Plagiarism;
  • Data fabrication;
  • Duplicate publication;
  • Citation manipulation;
  • Image falsification;
  • Authorship disputes.

Manuscripts with plagiarism similarity above 15%, excluding references, may be returned without review.

Ethical Requirements

Research involving communities or interviews must:

  • Obtain ethical approval;
  • Demonstrate informed consent;
  • Respect confidentiality.

Studies involving wildlife must:

  • Demonstrate humane handling procedures;
  • Include permit information;
  • Adhere to national conservation laws.

Artificial Intelligence and Digital Tools Policy

AESJ permits limited use of AI-assisted tools for:

  • Grammar improvement;
  • Language editing;
  • Formatting assistance.

However:

  • AI tools cannot be listed as authors;
  • Authors remain fully responsible for scientific accuracy;
  • AI-generated data, imagery, or analysis must be disclosed;
  • Fabricated references or manipulated ecological data constitute misconduct.

Peer Review Process

AESJ uses a double-blind peer review system.

Review Stages

  1. Editorial screening;
  2. Technical compliance assessment;
  3. Similarity check;
  4. External peer review;
  5. Editorial decision;
  6. Revision and resubmission;
  7. Final acceptance.

Possible Decisions

  • Accept;
  • Minor Revision;
  • Major Revision;
  • Reject with Resubmission Encouraged;
  • Reject.

Contact Information

Editorial Office
African Ecodiversity Systems Journal Editorial Secretariat
Email: aesj@eastafricajournal.org
Website: https://eastafricajournal.org