About the Journal

Focus and Scope

EKOTON is a scientific journal published by the Center for Environmental and Natural Resource Research (PPLH-SDA) of the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM) at Sam Ratulangi University. The Ekoton journal is published twice a year (April and October). It features studies on environmental and natural resource issues, covering planning, protection, and managing the environment and natural resources (SDA).

Peer Review Process

All manuscript articles will undergo an anonymous peer-review process. At least one external expert carries out the review process which usually takes no more than 2-4 weeks, focusing on substance, originality, relevance, coherence of methodological novelty, clarity of discussion, significance of results, up-to-date references, standardization of terms, and language usage. The review results serve as the basis for the editor's decision regarding the acceptance and publication of the articles assessed in this journal.

Publication Frequency

This journal is published twice a year, every May and November

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Publication Ethics Statement

The ethics statement of publication in the process of publishing articles in the   Ekoton Journal is a joint statement as; publisher, editor, review board, and writer. The three main publication ethics in  Ekoton  Journal:

  1. Neutrality. Publishing in the Ekoton Journal is free from conflicts of interest.
  2. Justice. Authorities of articles published in the Ekoton Journal belong to the author.
  3. Integrity / Honesty. Articles sent by the author must be original and free of plagiarism.

 Publisher ethical standards

  1. The publisher determines the name of the journal, the scope of science, the period of publication, and the status of accreditation (indexed).
  2. The publisher establishes the board of reviewers.
    1. The publisher defines the relationship of the publisher, editors, reviewers, and other parties in the contract.
    2. The publisher respects all confidential matters of authors, editors, and reviewers.
    3. The publisher respects the copyright of all articles.
    4. The publisher reviews the policy of publishing periodically and communicates it with authors, editors, reviewers, and readers.
    5. The publisher sets the code of conduct guidelines for editors and reviewers.
    6. The publisher ensures the publishing regularly.
    7. The publisher assures funding availability for publication sustainability.
    8. The publisher establishes and maintains the publication network.
    9. The publisher establishes the permit and other legal aspects.

Ethical standards of editors

  1. The editors justify the needs of readers and authors.
  2. The editors maintain the continuous improvement of publication quality.
  3. The editors apply procedures to ensure the quality of published articles.
  4. The editors prioritize the independence of academic expressions objectively.
  5. The editors maintain the integrity of the academic records of authors.
  6. The editors deliver to authors corrections, clarifications, rejections, and apologies if needed.
  7. The editors are responsible for the format and style of articles, while the authors are responsible for the contents (including any statements) of articles.
  8. The editors actively ask for any comments from authors, readers, reviewers, and members of the board editors to improve the publication quality.
  9. The editors encourage any assessments of the Ekoton Journal for any inadequacies.
  10. The editors support any initiative to reduce errors in published studies by asking the authors to sign any ethical clearances approved by the Ethical Clearance Committee.
  11. The editors support any initiative to educate the authors about publication ethics.
  12. The editors routinely evaluate and review the effect of publication policy on the responses of authors or reviewers and directly make any corrections needed to improve the editor's responsibility and reduce any errors significantly.
  13. The editors accept any comments or opinions by other people with the above board.
  14. The editors make decisions independently and objectively.
  15. The editors encourage the authors to revise (if any) the articles based on reviewers' comments with the objective of proper publication.

Ethical standards of reviewers

  1. The reviewers independently and objectively review the article assigned by editors and deliver the results to editors as the consideration of proper publication.
  2. The reviewers should not review the articles which directly or indirectly involve his/her name.
  3. The reviewers should keep the author's privacy by not propagating any comments or any contents of articles when under evaluation process.
  4. The reviewers encourage the authors to revise the articles in objective to proper publication.
  5. The reviewers should assess any revision by authors with predetermined standards.
  6. The reviewers should review the article with the standard time according to journal guidelines based on scientific rules such as methodology, the legality of authors, conclusion, etc.
  7. The reviewers should not review the articles which directly or indirectly involve his/her name.
  8. The reviewers should keep the author's privacy by not propagating any comments or any contents of articles when under evaluation process.
  9. The reviewers encourage the authors to revise the articles in objective to proper publication.
  10. The reviewers should assess any revision by authors with predetermined standards.
  11. The reviewers should review the article with the standard time according to journal guidelines based on scientific rules such as methodology, the legality of authors, conclusion, etc.

 Ethical standards of authors

  1. The author assures that the co-author/s are competent in the field of study.
  2. The author is responsible for the contents of the article.
  3. The author declares any resources (including funding) for publication.
  4. The author declares any limitations of the article.
  5. The author responds to any comments by reviewers professionally and on time.
  6. The author informs to editors if any revoke the article.
  7. The author signs the statements that the article is original, not under consideration, or published by other publishers in any languages