Conflict of Interest Policy

Bioresources and Environment (BioEnv) is committed to maintaining transparency, objectivity and integrity in scholarly publishing. A conflict of interest may arise when personal, professional, institutional, financial or other interests could reasonably be perceived to influence, or potentially influence, the objectivity, integrity or independence of research, peer review or editorial decision-making.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily mean that the research or manuscript is unsuitable for publication. However, all relevant conflicts must be disclosed so that they can be appropriately assessed and managed.

1. Authors

Authors must disclose any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest that could reasonably be considered to have influenced the research, its interpretation or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Potential conflicts may include, but are not limited to:

• financial interests or financial relationships;
• employment or consultancy arrangements;
• research grants, sponsorship or other funding relationships;
• personal or family relationships;
• institutional or organisational interests;
• ownership of stocks, shares, patents or other relevant intellectual property;
• paid expert testimony, advisory roles or other professional relationships; and
• other interests that could reasonably be perceived to influence the research or its interpretation.

Authors must also disclose the source of financial support for the research and, where applicable, the role of the funder in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation or decision to submit the article.

Where no relevant conflict exists, authors must provide an explicit declaration stating that there is no conflict of interest.

2. Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors and editorial board members must disclose any actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest that could affect their editorial judgment or independence.

An editor must not participate in editorial or publication decisions concerning a manuscript where the editor:

• is an author or co-author;
• has a close personal or professional relationship with an author;
• is from the same institution as an author where this could reasonably create a conflict;
• has a financial, consultancy or other material interest related to the manuscript;
• has a direct academic or professional interest that could reasonably affect impartiality; or
• has another relationship or circumstance that could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, independent editorial judgment.

Where an editor has a conflict of interest, the manuscript will be handled by another appropriate editor who is independent of the conflict. The usual editorial and peer-review standards will continue to apply.

Editors must maintain editorial independence and must not allow personal, institutional, financial or other interests to influence editorial decisions.

3. Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest to the editor before accepting an invitation to review and should decline the review where the conflict could compromise their impartiality.

Potential conflicts may include:

• close personal or family relationships with an author;
• current or recent professional collaboration with an author;
• employment at the same institution as an author;
• direct academic competition;
• financial or commercial interests;
• consultancy, advisory or other professional relationships;
• involvement in research that directly competes with the submitted work; or
• any other circumstance that could reasonably affect the objectivity of the review.

Reviewers must not use confidential information obtained through peer review for personal, professional or financial advantage.

Reviewers should also avoid recommending citations solely to increase their own citations or those of their associates. Citation recommendations should be based on genuine scholarly relevance.

Where a conflict of interest is identified, the editor may appoint an alternative reviewer.

4. Editorial Management of Conflicts of Interest

BioEnv assesses disclosed conflicts of interest on a case-by-case basis. Depending on the nature and seriousness of the conflict, the journal may:

• require additional disclosure;
• appoint an alternative editor or reviewer;
• require an independent assessment;
• request clarification from the authors;
• exclude a conflicted individual from editorial decision-making; or
• take other appropriate measures to protect the integrity and impartiality of the publication process.

Disclosure of a conflict does not automatically prevent publication. The journal will determine whether the conflict can be appropriately managed without compromising the integrity of the research or editorial process.

5. Article-Level Declaration

All published articles must include a Conflict-of-Interest statement, regardless of whether a conflict exists.

Where no conflict exists, the article should state:

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Where a conflict exists, authors must provide a clear and specific description of the relevant interest or relationship.

The declaration should appear in the published article as part of the article's end matter.

6. Relationship Between Conflict of Interest and Funding

Disclosure of funding is separate from, but related to, conflict-of-interest disclosure.

Authors must identify all sources of financial support for the research and, where applicable, disclose the role of the funder in:

• study design;
• data collection;
• data analysis;
• interpretation of findings;
• manuscript preparation; and
• the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

If the funder had no involvement in these activities, this should be stated explicitly.

7. Confidentiality and Editorial Independence

BioEnv will handle conflict-of-interest disclosures confidentially to the extent appropriate and consistent with transparency and publication-ethics requirements.

Editorial decisions are based on scholarly merit, originality, relevance to the journal's aims and scope, methodological quality and peer-review evaluation. Conflicts of interest must not be used to unfairly disadvantage or favour authors, reviewers or editors.

8. Failure to Disclose a Conflict

Failure to disclose a relevant conflict of interest may result in further inquiry and appropriate editorial action.

Depending on the circumstances, BioEnv may request a correction to the published article, issue an Expression of Concern, or take other appropriate action to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Where necessary, the journal may seek clarification from the authors' institution or other relevant parties.

9. Compliance with Publication Ethics Standards

BioEnv follows internationally recognised principles of publication ethics and transparency and takes relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and other appropriate scholarly publishing standards when managing conflicts of interest.

The journal expects authors, editors and reviewers to disclose relevant conflicts promptly and to cooperate with reasonable requests for clarification or further information.