About the Journal
Background
African Biodiversity & Conservation is published by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and aims to disseminate, to a wide audience, knowledge, information and innovative approaches that promote and enhance the wise use and management of biodiversity in order to sustain the systems and species that support and benefit the people of Africa.
Bothalia (the previous name for the journal) was published from 1922 to 2012 by SANBI, focussing on plant taxonomic and ecological research. In 2013 the journal expanded its scope to include other elements of biodiversity; the publisher moved to AOSIS; and the journal was renamed Bothalia: African Biodiversity & Conservation. Since 2020 SANBI has once again taken over the management of the journal using the Open Journal Systems. As of 2025 the journal was renamed African Biodiversity & Conservation (ABC for short).
Vision
‘A journal that publishes scientifically robust peer-reviewed studies on African biodiversity and conservation in a manner that is free, accessible and ethical, and that maintains high quality standards throughout.’
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Scope A. The research must be directly on African issues B. The research must be relevant to biodiversity C. Facilitate uptake into conservation policy and management + D. The research must be well conducted and noteworthy Paper topics The journal publishes original research findings, as well as reviews, commentaries, strategies and short notes. This includes papers on the following: 1. Generation of new knowledge that provides a foundation for assessment, planning or management of biodiversity, including (i) new taxonomic discoveries within Africa, from across all Kingdoms of organisms, (ii) documenting the abundance, diversity and distribution of genes, species and ecosystems in Africa (including temporal changes in these). 2. Assessment of biodiversity, including (i) the status of populations, species and ecosystems, (ii) the impacts of threats, harvesting and disturbance or of interventions on populations, species and ecosystems, (iii) the value of the goods and services provided by biodiversity. 3. Innovation in science- or evidence-based decision-making for biodiversity in Africa. This includes the publication of case studies, best practices, tools and plans for the conservation, use and management of biodiversity. 4. Cross-cutting fields specifically (i) developments and innovation in human capital development in the biodiversity sector and (ii) innovation in biodiversity information management and dissemination systems and tools for use of biodiversity information. 5. Strategic frameworks that provide guidance and direction for biodiversity research, assessment and management at national, regional or continental levels, especially those that integrate biodiversity management with local and regional socio-economic systems. Submissions from authors anywhere in Africa as well as those based outside of Africa are invited if the content relates to African biodiversity. Review and publication process Peer-reviewed, approved articles are published on the journal’s website as soon as they are ready for publication, and are also published in the hard copy version of the journal at the end of each year. The review process is not blinded with respect to authors, and the decision to include their name is at the discretion of reviewers. In the case of news items, these will be checked by a member of the editorial team but they will not be peer-reviewed. Such publications will clearly state that they are not peer reviewed publications. The journal is open access and there are no page charges for authors. The journal is accredited by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training and is included in the Web of Science Core Collection. Journal Impact FactorTM from ClarivateTM 2023 = 0.5 |