Instructions for Authors, contributing to “GEOGRAPHY, ENVIRONMENT, SUSTAINABILITY”

Aims and scope of the Journal

The scientific English language journal ‘GEOGRAPHY, ENVIRONMENT, SUSTAINABILITY’ aims at informing and covering the results of research and global achievements in the sphere of geography, environmental conservation and sustainable development in the changing world. Publications of the journal are aimed at foreign and Russian scientists—geographers, ecologists, specialists in environmental conservation, natural resource use, education for sustainable development, GIS technology, cartography, social and political geography etc. Publications that are interdisciplinary, theoretical and methodological are particularly welcome, as well as those dealing with field studies in the sphere of environmental science.

Among the main thematic sections of the journal there are basics of geography and environmental science; fundamentals of sustainable development; environmental management; environment and natural resources; human (economic and social) geography; global and regional environmental and climate change; environmental regional planning; sustainable regional development; applied geographical and environmental studies; geo-informatics and environmental mapping; oil and gas exploration and environmental problems; nature conservation and biodiversity; environment and health; education for sustainable development.

I. General guidelines

1. Authors are encouraged to submit high-quality, original work: scientific papers according to the scope of the Journal, reviews (only solicited) and brief articles. Earlier published materials are accepted under the decision of the Editorial Board.
2. Papers are accepted in English. Either British or American English spelling and punctuation may be used. Papers in French are accepted under the decision of the Editorial Board.
3. All authors of an article are asked to indicate their names (with one forename in full for each author, other forenames being given as initials followed by the surname) and the name and full postal address (including postal code) of the establishment(s) where the work was done. If there is more than one institution involved in the work, authors’ names should be linked to the appropriate institutions by the use of 1, 2, 3 etc superscript. Telephone and fax numbers and e-mail addresses of the authors could be published as well. One author should be identified as a Corresponding Author. The e-mail address of the corresponding author will be published, unless requested otherwise.
4. The GES Journal style is to include information about the author(s) of an article. Therefore we encourage the authors to submit their photos and short CVs.
5. The optimum size of a manuscript is about 3,000–5,000 words. Under the decision (or request) of the Editorial Board methodological and problem articles or reviews up to 8,000–10,000 words long can be accepted.
6. To facilitate the editorial assessment and reviewing process authors should submit “full” electronic version of their manuscript with embedded figures of “screen” quality as a PDF file.
7. We encourage authors to list three potential expert reviewers in their field. The Editorial Board will view these names as suggestions only. All papers are reviewed by at least two reviewers selected from names suggested by authors, a list of reviewers maintained by GES, and other experts identified by the associate editors. Names of the selected reviewers are not disclosed to authors. The reviewers’ comments are sent to authors for consideration.

II. Manuscript preparation

Before preparing papers, authors should consult a current issue of the journal at http://www.geogr.msu.ru/GESJournal/index.php to make themselves familiar with the general format, layout of tables, citation of references etc.

1. Manuscript should be compiled in the following order: authors names; authors affiliations and contacts; title; abstract; key words; main text; acknowledgments; appendices (as appropriate); references; authors (brief CV and photo)
2. The title should be concise but informative to the general reader. The abstract should briefly summarize, in one paragraph (up to 1,500 characters), the general problem and objectives, the results obtained, and the implications. Up to six keywords, of which at least three do not appear in the title, should be provided.
3. The main body of the paper should be divided into: (a) introduction; (b) materials and methods; (c) results; (d) discussion; (e) conclusion; (f) acknowledgements; (g) numbered references. It is often an advantage to combine (c) and (d) with gains of conciseness and clarity. The next-level subdivisions are possible for (c) and (d) sections or their combination.
4. All figures (including photos of the authors) are required to be submitted as separate files in original formats (CorelDraw, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator). Resolution of raster images should be not less than 300 dpi. Please number all figures (graphs, charts, photographs, and illustrations) in the order of their citation in the text. Composite figures should be labeled A, B, C, etc. Figure captions should be submitted as a separate file.
5. Tables should be numbered consecutively and include a brief title followed by up to several lines of explanation (if necessary). Parameters being measured, with units if appropriate, should be clearly indicated in the column headings. Each table should be submitted as a separate file in original format (MS Word, Excel, etc.).
6. Whenever possible, total number of references should not exceed 25–30. Each entry must have at least one corresponding reference in the text. In the text the surname of the author and the year of publication of the reference should be given in square brackets, i.e. [Author1, Author2, 2008]. Two or more references by the same author(s) published in the same year should be differentiated by letters a, b, c etc. For references with more than two authors, text citations should be shortened to the first name followed by et al.
7. References must be listed in alphabetical order at the end of the paper and numbered with Arabic numbers. References to the same author(s) should be in chronological order. Original languages other than English should be indicated in the end of the reference, e.g. (in Russian) etc.
   Journal references should include: author(s) surname(s) and initials; year of publication (in brackets); article title; journal title; volume number and page numbers.
   References to books should include: author(s) surname(s) and initials; year of publication (in brackets); book title; name of the publisher and place of publication.
   References to multi-author works should include after the year of publication: chapter title; “In:” followed by book title; initials and name(s) of editor(s) in brackets; volume number and pages; name of the publisher and place of publication.
8. Authors must adhere to SI units. Units are not italicised.
9. When using a word which is or is asserted to be a proprietary term or trade mark, authors must use the symbol ® or ™.
10. As Instructions for Authors are subjected to changes, please see the latest “Example of manuscript style” at http://www.geogr.msu.ru/GESJournal/author.php

III. Manuscript submission

Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts electronically. Electronic submissions should be sent as email attachments to GESJournal@yandex.ru