Conflict of Interest and Competing Interests Policy

Reog: Journal of Ecoethnoscience Education is committed to ensuring that research, peer review, editorial handling, and publication are conducted transparently, objectively, independently, and with integrity.

A Conflict of Interest (COI) or Competing Interest exists when a relationship, activity, interest, or circumstance could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the judgment, interpretation, peer review, editorial handling, or publication of scholarly work.

Authors

All Authors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived Conflict of Interest or Competing Interest relevant to the submitted manuscript.

This may include, but is not limited to:

  • financial interests, grants, funding, sponsorship, employment, consultancy, honoraria, or commercial relationships;
  • personal or family relationships;
  • academic, professional, institutional, or collaborative relationships;
  • competitive or professional interests;
  • political, ideological, or organizational interests; and
  • any other relationship or circumstance that could reasonably be perceived to influence the scholarly work.

All relevant financial and non-financial support, including funding, sponsorship, institutional support, or other assistance related to the research must also be disclosed.

Every manuscript must include a Declaration of Competing Interest, whether or not a Conflict of Interest or Competing Interest exists. If no relevant competing interest exists, Authors should explicitly state: “The Authors declare no Conflict of Interest.”

Where a relevant Conflict of Interest or Competing Interest exists, Authors must provide a clear and appropriate disclosure in the manuscript.

Authors must also ensure that all relevant financial and non-financial interests, including funding and other relevant support, are disclosed through the signed Statement of Manuscript Authenticity submitted with the manuscript.

Peer Reviewers

Peer Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived Conflict of Interest or Competing Interest that may affect, or reasonably be perceived to affect, their independence and objectivity in reviewing the manuscript.

Such interests may include personal, financial, academic, institutional, professional, collaborative, competitive, or other relevant relationships with the Authors, institutions, funders, or organizations associated with the manuscript.

If a significant Conflict of Interest exists, the Reviewer must inform the Editor and, where appropriate, decline the review assignment.

If a potential Conflict of Interest becomes apparent after accepting the review assignment, the Reviewer must promptly inform the Editor so that appropriate action can be taken.

Editors and Editorial Team

Editors and Editorial Team members must disclose any relevant Conflict of Interest or Competing Interest associated with a manuscript under consideration.

Editors must not handle manuscripts in which they have an unmanaged Conflict of Interest arising from personal, academic, financial, institutional, competitive, collaborative, commercial, or other relevant relationships with the Authors, Reviewers, institutions, funders, or organizations associated with the manuscript.

Where an Editor has a relevant Conflict of Interest, the manuscript must be reassigned to another qualified Editor who is free from that conflict.

If the Editor-in-Chief has a Conflict of Interest concerning a manuscript, the manuscript must be handled independently by another appropriate Editor or member of the Editorial Board who is free from the relevant conflict.

Editorial Independence

Disclosure of a Conflict of Interest or Competing Interest does not, by itself, constitute misconduct and does not automatically disqualify a manuscript, Author, Reviewer, or Editor from participation in the publication process.

The Editorial Team will assess the nature and significance of the disclosed interest and determine whether disclosure, recusal, reassignment, additional review, or another appropriate measure is necessary.

Editorial decisions must not be influenced by Submission Fees, Article Publication Fees, Fast-Track Review fees, waiver or fee-reduction requests, sponsorship, institutional relationships, commercial interests, or other considerations unrelated to the scholarly and ethical evaluation of the manuscript.

Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If a potentially significant undisclosed Conflict of Interest or Competing Interest is identified during editorial processing, Reog may request clarification or additional disclosure and may suspend editorial processing where necessary until the matter has been sufficiently clarified.

If an undisclosed Conflict of Interest is identified after publication, Reog may take appropriate action in accordance with the Research Misconduct and Post-Publication Policy, including publication of a Correction, disclosure statement, or another appropriate editorial or post-publication notice where required.

Related Policies

Author disclosure requirements are also incorporated into the Reog Manuscript Templates and the Statement of Manuscript Authenticity.

Policy Review

Reog may periodically review and revise this policy in response to developments in publication ethics, editorial practice, scholarly publishing standards, journal requirements, or other relevant developments.