At AIJNES, we deeply appreciate the invaluable contributions of our reviewers in upholding the quality, integrity, and academic rigor of our journal. Our Reviewer Recognition program is designed to acknowledge and celebrate the significant efforts of those who contribute their time and expertise to the peer review process.
Annual Acknowledgment
Each year, AIJNES publishes a formal acknowledgment of all reviewers who have participated in the peer review process. This list is available both in print and online, recognizing their contributions to the academic community. Reviewers’ names are featured in the journal’s annual report and on our website.
Personalized Certificates
Reviewers who complete multiple reviews or provide exceptional feedback are awarded personalized certificates of appreciation. These certificates serve as official recognition of their hard work and commitment to scholarly standards. Editors will issue certificates annually, which can be included in reviewers’ professional portfolios.
Top Reviewer Award
Each year, AIJNES identifies top-performing reviewers based on the quality and timeliness of their reviews. These reviewers are honored with a Top Reviewer Award, highlighted on our website and in a special recognition section of the journal.
Reviewer Evaluation
Editors evaluate reviewers based on their detailed feedback, contribution to the review process, and adherence to deadlines. Those who consistently provide high-quality reviews are offered opportunities for professional development.
Professional Development
Reviewers may be invited to participate in editorial workshops, webinars, and roundtables focusing on the peer review process and academic publishing trends. These events aim to enhance their reviewing skills and knowledge of scholarly publishing advancements.
Digital Badges
Reviewers who have provided a certain number of reviews or received high evaluations may be awarded digital badges. These badges can be displayed on professional profiles to highlight their role in the peer review process. Editors will distribute these badges as part of our recognition program and encourage their use in professional settings.
Conclusion
AIJNES is committed to recognizing and rewarding the valuable contributions of our reviewers. Through our Reviewer Recognition program, we aim to foster a supportive and appreciative environment for those who contribute to the academic community.
Name of Journal: Academia International Journal of Natural and Environmental Sciences (AIJNES)
Journal Frequency: Bi-Anually
Online ISSN (E): -
Online ISSN (P): -
Language: English
Publisher: ACADEMIA (PRIVATE) LIMITED
Review Type: Peer-Reviewed
Area of Publication: Natural and Environmental Sciences
Academia International Journal of Natural and Environmental Sciences (AIJNES) is a fully open access journal. All articles are free to read, download and share immediately upon publication. To cover the costs of publication, a one-time Article Processing Charge (APC) is payable by the author(s), their institution or funder only after a manuscript has been accepted for publication.
The APC listed below is the only fee charged by the journal. Authors are never asked to pay before acceptance.
| Corresponding Author Affiliation | APC |
|---|---|
| Top 100 Universities (QS/THE ranking) | No APC |
| Top 500 Universities | USD 150 |
| High-Income Countries (World Bank classification) | USD 200 |
| Middle-Income Countries | USD 150 |
| Low-Income Countries | USD 150 |
| Institutions in Pakistan | PKR 30,000 |
AIJNES does not want the APC to be a barrier to publication. Full or partial waivers are available for:
Waiver requests must be sent to the editorial office (jawad@academia.edu.pk) at the time of submission, with a brief justification. Each request is assessed individually and confidentially by the publisher.
Editorial decisions are based solely on the quality and scholarly merit of the manuscript. Editors and reviewers are not informed about whether an author has paid, will pay, or has requested a waiver, and a waiver request has no influence on the outcome of peer review.
An invoice is issued to the corresponding author after formal acceptance. The article is scheduled for publication once payment is received. If an accepted article is later withdrawn by the journal for reasons not attributable to the author, the APC is refunded in full. APCs are not refundable once an article has been published.
AIJNES publishes only original work. Every submission must be the authors’ own work, must not have been published previously, and must not be under consideration by another journal. The journal follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for preventing and handling plagiarism.
All manuscripts are checked with Turnitin similarity-detection software at initial editorial screening, before they are sent for peer review, and again before publication. The similarity report is reviewed by the editor; a similarity score alone is never the basis of a decision.
In line with the guidelines of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan, the overall similarity index must not exceed 19%, with no more than 5% from any single source, excluding references and properly quoted material.
| Type of Case | Editorial Action |
|---|---|
| Minor overlap (e.g. missing citations, limited text overlap) | Manuscript returned to the author for correction |
| Major plagiarism (extensive copying without attribution) | Manuscript rejected; author informed with evidence |
| Plagiarism detected after publication | Investigation following COPE flowcharts; correction or retraction as appropriate |
| Repeated or deliberate misconduct | Rejection, notification of the author’s institution, and possible submission ban |
AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Authors who use generative AI for language editing or other support must disclose this in the manuscript (e.g. in the Methods or Acknowledgements section) and remain fully responsible for the accuracy and originality of the content. Reviewers and editors must not upload manuscripts to AI tools.
At submission, authors confirm that the work is original and properly cited. Authors may appeal a plagiarism-related decision by writing to the Editor-in-Chief (jawad@academia.edu.pk) with supporting evidence; appeals are handled under the journal’s Appeals Policy and COPE guidance.
AIJNES is committed to the permanent availability of everything it publishes. If the journal ceases publication, all published content will remain accessible to readers.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to deposit all versions of their work in any repository or website, without embargo:
Versions may be deposited in institutional repositories, subject repositories (e.g. Zenodo), personal websites and academic social networks. No permission is needed; we ask only that the deposit cites the original publication and links to its DOI.
All archived and self-archived copies remain under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), the same licence under which the article was published.
Academia International Journal of Natural and Environmental Sciences (AIJNES) is a fully open access journal. All content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) definition of open access.
All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This licence lets anyone share and adapt the work for any purpose, including commercially, provided that appropriate credit is given to the author(s) and the original publication in AIJNES, a link to the licence is provided, and any changes are indicated. The licence is displayed on every article page and in every article PDF.
Authors retain the copyright of their work without restrictions and grant AIJNES the right of first publication. See the Copyright Policy for details.
Reading is always free. Publication costs are covered by an Article Processing Charge payable only after acceptance, with waivers available. Full details are given in the Charges Policy.
Article metadata are openly available through the OJS OAI-PMH interface and Crossref, so that content can be harvested by indexing services, repositories and search engines.
AIJNES is committed to the integrity of the scholarly record. Corrections, retractions and expressions of concern are handled according to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Retraction Guidelines. Published articles are never silently changed.
Where an error affects the accuracy or understanding of a published article but does not invalidate its findings, a correction is published:
The correction notice receives its own DOI, is linked to the original article, and the original article is updated with a note pointing to the correction.
An article is retracted when there is clear evidence that its findings are unreliable (because of misconduct or honest error), or in cases of plagiarism, duplicate publication, unethical research, or authorship disputes that cannot be resolved. Retraction may be requested by the authors, editors or readers, and is decided by the Editor-in-Chief after investigation.
When there is inconclusive evidence of misconduct, or an investigation is still ongoing, the editors may publish an Expression of Concern linked to the article. It is updated or replaced by a correction or retraction once the investigation is complete.
In rare cases, an article may have to be removed for legal reasons or because it poses a serious risk to health. The bibliographic information is kept online with a notice explaining why the full text has been removed.
Anyone who believes a published article contains an error or raises an ethical concern can contact the editorial office at jawad@academia.edu.pk. All reports are treated confidentially, and authors are given an opportunity to respond before a decision is made.
Authors who publish in AIJNES retain the copyright of their work without restrictions. By submitting, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive licence to publish the article and to be identified as its original publisher (right of first publication).
All articles are published open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Under this licence anyone may:
provided that appropriate credit is given to the author(s) and to the original publication in AIJNES (including the DOI), a link to the licence is provided, and any changes are indicated.
The copyright holder and the CC BY 4.0 licence are stated on each article’s landing page, in the full-text PDF and in the article metadata deposited with Crossref.
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce any figures, tables or other material owned by third parties and must indicate this in the manuscript. Such material may be excluded from the CC BY licence and is identified as such.
All research articles submitted to AIJNES are subject to rigorous double-blind peer review: the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from each other throughout the process. The journal follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.
The peer review process normally takes 4–6 weeks from submission to first decision. Total time to publication depends on the number of revision rounds and on how quickly authors return revisions.
The final decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief and is based only on the scholarly merit of the work, never on the author’s affiliation, nationality or ability to pay. Editors who have a conflict of interest with a manuscript withdraw from handling it. Manuscripts submitted by editorial board members are handled by another editor and undergo the same double-blind review, without any involvement of the authoring member.
Authors who believe a decision was based on an error may submit a written appeal to the Editor-in-Chief at jawad@academia.edu.pk within 30 days, explaining the grounds. The appeal is assessed by an editor not involved in the original decision, who may consult an additional independent reviewer. The appeal decision is final.
AIJNES acknowledges its reviewers with a review certificate on request and an annual list of reviewers published on the journal website.