Journal profile
Blue Papers
ISSN 2950-1423 · Stichting OpenAccess · Netherlands
Blue Papers: diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 13 weeks (community reports); 36 articles in 2025.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Blue Papers is published by Stichting OpenAccess. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Archaeology and Natural History, Water management and technologies and Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation, together about 45.3% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Water in all its forms is key to human survival and well-being. Humans have created intricate and ingenious solutions to survive and thrive in difficult and complex territories, and adapt to changes in social and environmental conditions. Remnants of past practices, structures and objects are still with us – in the built environment, in our institutions, in our ways of living and in our languages. Sometimes we call these objects and practices heritage, but more often they are so much a part of our everyday lives that we take them for granted. As emphasized in the UNESCO Thematic Indicators for Culture in the 2030 Agenda,1 culture is an important part of the Goals and Targets of the 2030 United Nations’ Agenda for Sustainable Development. Stand-alone technological interventions cannot solve the complexities of the social, cultural and economic implications of climate change in the long term. New solutions require the engagement of local interested parties and local knowledge to address social and cultural dimensions of water and to create a new embedded water awareness in the built environment, in institutions and culture(s), so that we can preserve and protect our heritage, understand and learn from the past, and activate history and heritage for future sustainable and inclusive living. The biannual peer-reviewed journal Blue Papers explores the complex relationship between water, culture and heritage to assess lessons from the past, to protect heritage sites, to make use of water heritage and to contribute to the development of inclusive and sustainable future water systems. The past can help build a new platform for awareness of water and heritage, which involves shared methodologies and terminologies, policies and tools that bridge disparate fields and disciplines. To achieve this, we also need to rethink the role of water in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Water is not fully captured in Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all; it is also an integral and inseparable key to all SDGs that carry us forward to a more sustainable future. For every article in Blue Papers, we assigned a number of relevant SDGs besides SDG 6. Icons on the use and meaning of the types of water offer further categorization. All case studies are categorized according to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification to indicate specific local challenges. All issues of the journal will be loosely based on themes that link to water, culture and heritage, includi
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Editor-in-chief Carola HeinPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 33%); most named Mainland China 1, Germany 1, Netherlands 1 (3 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Archaeology and Natural HistorySocial Sciences19.4%
- Water management and technologiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences13.6%
- Cultural Heritage Management and PreservationArts and Humanities12.3%
- Water Governance and InfrastructureSocial Sciences9%
- Urban Development and Cultural HeritageSocial Sciences6.5%
- Urbanism, Landscape, and Tourism StudiesSocial Sciences4.6%
- Environmental Science and Water ManagementEnvironmental Science4.6%
- Urban Planning and Landscape DesignEnvironmental Science4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
DOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- h-index
- 6OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 0OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.28OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 198 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 49 | 49 | 53 |
| 2025 | 36 | 36 | 47 |
| 2024 | 38 | 38 | 39 |
| 2023 | 38 | 38 | 16 |
| 2022 | 37 | 37 | 0 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 13 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 13 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare1 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- Chicago
Article types accepted1, with length limits
- case studyto be shared? Part II Methodologies and Case Studies (*Each contribution should be at most 1500 words) Methodologies How do new tools and methods connect water,main text ≤ 1,500 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism
- Authorship Originality & Credit
Plagiarism is not accepted. If your research is a joint effort, credits shall also be given to your co-researchers/designers by listing them as co-author(s).
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of interest
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with others or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential competing interests include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics PUBLICATION ETHICS
Blue Papers uses guidelines regarding ethics based on the core practices formulated by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Anyone who believes that an contribution published in Blue Papers does not comply with these principles should raise their concerns with the editor-in-chief.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access OPEN ACCESS POLICY
Blue Papers is an open-access journal. The journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. You are free to use the work, but you have to attribute (refer to) the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). The easiest way to refer to an article is to use the …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Policy
Double-blind peer review Model summary
Blue Papers journal uses a double-blind reviewing policy. Authors must cite their works in a manner that does not make their identity explicit. The editorial team will format the submitted article for peer review purposes.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism PLAGIARISM
Blue Papers actively checks for plagiarism, using the services of Grammarly.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Stichting OpenAccess
- Country or region
- Netherlands
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2950-1423
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 5, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Blue Papers
How long does peer review take at Blue Papers?
Authors report an average review time of about 13 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Blue Papers based?
Of the 3 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 33%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (1), Germany (1) and Netherlands (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Blue Papers?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Blue Papers is indexed in DOAJ.
Is Blue Papers open access, and what is the APC?
Blue Papers is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .