MANUSCRIPT WITHDRAWAL POLICY

Environmental and Agriculture Management (EAM) is committed to maintaining transparency, fairness, editorial independence, and ethical integrity throughout the scholarly publishing process.

This policy establishes the principles and procedures governing the voluntary withdrawal of manuscripts submitted to EAM before formal publication. It aims to protect the rights and responsibilities of authors, maintain the integrity of editorial records, and ensure the responsible use of editorial and peer review resources.

The policy applies to manuscripts undergoing initial editorial screening, peer review, revision, copyediting, or production, provided that the article has not yet been formally published.

EAM recognizes that authors may have legitimate reasons for requesting manuscript withdrawal. Such requests will be considered fairly, professionally, and without unnecessary punitive measures, in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policies and relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Manuscript withdrawal refers to the formal discontinuation of a manuscript's consideration or publication process at the request of its authors before the article is published.

Withdrawal is distinct from editorial rejection, which results from an assessment of a manuscript's suitability or scientific quality, and from retraction, which concerns an article that has already entered the published scholarly record.

A manuscript is considered officially withdrawn only after the editorial office has reviewed the request, completed the necessary administrative procedures, and issued written confirmation to the corresponding author.

Submitting a withdrawal request does not automatically terminate an active submission.

Authors may request withdrawal for legitimate reasons, including but not limited to:

• Discovery of substantial errors in research data, methodology, analysis, or interpretation that require reconsideration beyond the existing revision process.
• Identification of ethical concerns, authorship disputes, or other issues affecting the integrity of the manuscript.
• Inability to continue the publication process because of significant research-related, institutional, or personal circumstances.
• A collective decision by the author group to discontinue consideration of the manuscript.
• Other reasonable circumstances explained in a formal withdrawal request.

Authors are expected to provide an accurate explanation of the circumstances leading to their request.

EAM discourages withdrawal practices intended to manipulate editorial processes, circumvent unresolved ethical concerns, or facilitate simultaneous submission to multiple journals.

A legitimate withdrawal request will not, by itself, be treated as evidence of research or publication misconduct.

Authors may request withdrawal while their manuscript is undergoing initial screening by the Editor-in-Chief.

The Editor-in-Chief reviews the request, verifies the submission information, and coordinates the necessary administrative action with the editorial office.

Where the request is properly authorized and no unresolved issue requires further examination, the editorial office will confirm the withdrawal and discontinue further manuscript processing.

Authors may request withdrawal while their manuscript is undergoing independent peer review.

The assigned Editorial Board member, acting as the handling editor, evaluates the request and coordinates the discontinuation of the review process.

Where appropriate, reviewers who have already accepted or commenced review assignments will be informed that their services are no longer required.

The journal will maintain the confidentiality of reviewer identities, unpublished manuscript materials, and editorial correspondence.

Withdrawal during peer review does not automatically constitute misconduct or justify a penalty against the authors.

Authors may request withdrawal after receiving a decision requiring minor or major revision.

EAM does not impose a fixed deadline for authors to submit revised manuscripts. Consequently, a manuscript will not be considered withdrawn solely because the authors have not submitted a revision within a predetermined period.

Authors who intend to discontinue the publication process must submit an explicit withdrawal request.

The handling editor reviews the request and coordinates the appropriate administrative action.

Authors who require additional time to complete revisions are encouraged to maintain communication with the handling editor rather than withdraw a manuscript solely because of concerns about revision time.

Withdrawal requests submitted after formal acceptance require careful consideration because the manuscript may already have entered copyediting, typesetting, proofreading, or other publication preparation activities.

The assigned Editorial Board member evaluates the scientific and editorial aspects of the request in coordination with the Editor-in-Chief and relevant editorial production personnel.

The editorial office may seek clarification concerning the grounds for withdrawal, confirmation of agreement among the authors, the current publication status, and any relevant ethical or contractual considerations.

A withdrawal request made after acceptance will not be rejected solely because editorial or production work has already been undertaken. However, the journal must verify that the withdrawal can be completed appropriately and without compromising the integrity of the publication record.

If the article has already been formally published or made publicly available as a published scholarly record, the matter will be addressed under the journal's post-publication correction and retraction procedures rather than ordinary manuscript withdrawal.

Withdrawal requests must be submitted by the corresponding author through the journal's official editorial communication channel.

The request should contain the following information:

1. Manuscript identification: The submission ID assigned by Open Journal Systems (OJS).
2. Manuscript title: The complete title as recorded in the submission system.
3. Author information: The corresponding author's full name, institutional affiliation, and registered email address.
4. Reason for withdrawal: A clear explanation of the circumstances motivating the request.
5. Author agreement: Written confirmation that all listed authors have been informed of and agree to the withdrawal.
6. Supporting documentation: Relevant information or evidence, where necessary to clarify the request.

Requests should preferably be submitted through the discussion or correspondence facilities associated with the existing OJS submission record.

When this is not possible, the corresponding author may contact the editorial office through the journal's official Contact page.

EAM does not require authors to create a new manuscript submission to request withdrawal.

Where written agreement from every author cannot immediately be obtained, the editorial office may seek confirmation directly from the relevant authors before determining the appropriate action.

All withdrawal requests are evaluated in accordance with EAM's established editorial responsibilities.

The Editor-in-Chief coordinates withdrawal requests received during initial editorial screening and oversees appropriate editorial assignments when further examination is necessary.

Once a manuscript has been assigned, the responsible Editorial Board member (handling editor) evaluates the request within the manuscript's editorial process and determines the appropriate editorial action, considering the authors' agreement, current manuscript status, and any relevant integrity concerns.

For manuscripts that have entered copyediting or production, the handling editor coordinates with the Editor-in-Chief and relevant production personnel to verify that the appropriate publication and administrative steps can be completed.

If a withdrawal request involves an editor with a relevant conflict of interest, the matter will be reassigned to another qualified and independent editor.

Withdrawal decisions and administrative procedures must be conducted fairly, confidentially, and independently of financial or institutional pressure.

The editorial office communicates the outcome to the corresponding author after the necessary assessment has been completed.

EAM manages manuscript submissions through Open Journal Systems (OJS) version 3.

The journal recognizes that the available administrative actions and status labels may vary between OJS 3 releases and configurations. Accordingly, Withdrawal Requested refers to an editorial procedure and is not necessarily a separate automated submission status.

When a withdrawal request has been approved, the editorial office will:

• Record the request and its supporting correspondence in the manuscript's editorial records.
• Notify the relevant editor and editorial personnel that further processing must cease.
• Close or archive the submission using an appropriate administrative procedure supported by the installed OJS version.
• Clearly identify the reason for closure as an author-requested withdrawal in the internal record and correspondence.
• Send written confirmation to the corresponding author.

Where an OJS administrative action uses terminology normally associated with declining a submission, the journal will distinguish an author-requested withdrawal from a rejection based on scientific quality or editorial suitability.

Manuscript records will be retained in accordance with EAM's confidentiality, recordkeeping, and applicable data protection requirements.

The journal will not routinely delete submission records merely to conceal a withdrawal or eliminate relevant editorial correspondence.

EAM expects authors to uphold ethical responsibilities throughout the withdrawal process.

Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to EAM and another journal.

Authors requesting withdrawal should refrain from submitting the manuscript elsewhere until they receive written confirmation that the submission is no longer under consideration by EAM.

If the withdrawal request raises concerns involving plagiarism, duplicate submission, data fabrication or falsification, authorship manipulation, or other potential misconduct, EAM may initiate or continue an appropriate ethical assessment.

Where necessary, the journal may request additional information, communicate with the relevant research institution, or take other proportionate measures consistent with its Research and Publication Misconduct Policy and relevant COPE guidance.

A withdrawal request does not automatically terminate the journal's responsibility to evaluate credible allegations of research or publication misconduct.

However, EAM will not presume that authors requesting withdrawal have engaged in misconduct without sufficient evidence.

Withdrawal requests involving disagreements among co-authors require particular care.

EAM expects the corresponding author to communicate the proposed withdrawal to all listed authors and provide appropriate evidence of their agreement.

Where the authors disagree about whether the manuscript should be withdrawn, the editorial office may temporarily suspend further processing while seeking clarification.

The journal does not independently determine ownership of disputed research contributions or adjudicate unresolved institutional authorship disputes.

Where appropriate, the authors may be advised to seek resolution through their affiliated research institutions or other competent bodies.

Editorial processing may resume or be formally discontinued after the relevant concerns have been adequately addressed.

These procedures are consistent with EAM's Authorship and Contributorship Policy.

EAM is committed to transparent, fair, and proportionate publishing practices.

The journal does not impose punitive withdrawal charges or automatically blacklist authors solely for submitting a legitimate withdrawal request in good faith.

Any independently applicable publication-related charges must be governed by the journal's publicly disclosed Author Fees Policy and any relevant agreements. Undisclosed administrative penalties must not be imposed retrospectively.

Payment-related matters must not improperly influence editorial judgments concerning scientific merit, publication ethics, or the handling of withdrawal requests.

Deliberate misconduct, fraudulent representations, or systematic abuse of the publication process will be assessed separately under the journal's established research and publication misconduct procedures, rather than treated as misconduct merely because withdrawal was requested.

Once an article has been formally published, including publication online before assignment to a particular journal issue, ordinary manuscript withdrawal is no longer the appropriate mechanism for addressing concerns about its scientific content or publication status.

Requests concerning published articles will instead be evaluated under EAM's Research and Publication Misconduct Policy and the applicable procedures for correction, expression of concern, or retraction.

Published articles will not ordinarily be removed from the scholarly record simply because an author requests withdrawal.

Any post-publication action must be justified by the available evidence, appropriately documented, and communicated transparently to readers, with reference to relevant COPE guidance.

Authors who believe that a withdrawal request has been handled improperly may submit a reasoned request for reconsideration through EAM's official editorial contact channel.

Requests should identify the procedural concern, relevant factual information, or additional evidence supporting reconsideration.

Where practicable, a qualified editor who was not responsible for the original assessment will review the concern.

The journal will evaluate such requests fairly, without retaliation or inappropriate discrimination.

Reconsideration does not automatically change the administrative or editorial outcome.

EAM implements this policy in conjunction with its established editorial and ethical requirements, including:

• Peer Review Process and Policy
• Author Guidelines
• Authorship and Contributorship Policy
• Research and Publication Misconduct Policy
• Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
• Author Fees Policy

The policy is informed by the ethical principles and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), particularly those concerning authorship, allegations of misconduct, editorial fairness, and the integrity of the published scholarly record.

Relevant resources include:

• COPE Core Practices
• COPE Guidance on Cooperation between Research Institutions and Journals
• COPE Retraction Guidelines

Reference to COPE guidance does not imply formal COPE membership, certification, or endorsement.

Authors seeking manuscript withdrawal or clarification regarding this policy should communicate with the editorial office through the official journal contact channel.

All withdrawal requests will be handled professionally, confidentially, and in accordance with the principles of responsible scholarly publishing.