Ethical Considerations

Advancements in Ethnobotanical Sciences (AES) is committed to responsible, transparent, and culturally respectful research. Authors are expected to comply with relevant ethical standards, national regulations, and international principles governing research involving people, biodiversity, traditional knowledge, and biological resources.

Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge

Research involving traditional, Indigenous, or local knowledge must respect the rights, values, and cultural practices of knowledge-holding communities. Authors should clearly describe how knowledge was obtained and, where applicable, document Prior Informed Consent (PIC) and community approval.

Sacred, confidential, or culturally restricted knowledge should not be published without appropriate permission.

Access and Benefit-Sharing

Studies involving biological resources or associated traditional knowledge should comply with applicable Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) requirements and relevant national and international regulations. Authors should disclose permits, agreements, or other legal requirements when applicable.

Human Participants

Research involving interviews, surveys, focus groups, or other interactions with participants must comply with applicable ethical requirements. Informed consent should be obtained before data collection, and participants' privacy and confidentiality must be protected.

Identifiable personal information, photographs, recordings, or quotations should not be published without appropriate consent for publication.

Botanical and Biodiversity Ethics

Authors must ensure accurate botanical identification and comply with applicable regulations governing plant collection, transport, and conservation. Voucher specimens should be deposited in a recognised herbarium whenever appropriate.

Research should avoid unnecessary damage to populations, habitats, protected species, or ecosystems.

Animal-Related Research

Studies involving animals must comply with relevant institutional, national, and international standards for animal welfare and ethical research. Appropriate ethical approval should be reported where required.

Conflicts of Interest

All authors must disclose financial and non-financial interests that could influence the research, interpretation, or publication of their work. Editors and reviewers should also declare relevant conflicts of interest.

Research Integrity

AES does not tolerate plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, manipulated data, inappropriate authorship, or unauthorised use of traditional knowledge. Suspected misconduct will be handled in accordance with recognised publication-ethics standards.

Editorial Responsibility