Journal profile · Environmental Science-Nature and Landscape Conservation
Parks
ISSN 0960-233X · eISSN 2411-2119 · IUCN - International Union for the Conservation of Nature · Switzerland
Parks: diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 20 weeks (community reports); 23 articles in 2025; indexed in Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Parks is published by IUCN - International Union for the Conservation of Nature. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management, Ecology, Conservation, and Geographical Studies and Land Use and Ecosystem Services, together about 54.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Global and Planetary Change and Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
PARKS aims to build global knowledge and best practice related to protected and conserved area management. We aim for PARKS to be a rigorous publication with high academic credibility and standing and to be a resource for people actively involved in establishing and managing protected and conserved areas. We work to include authors who are involved in management but do not usually find the time to report the results of their research to a wider audience. We welcome submissions from people whose written English is imperfect if they have interesting research to report, backed up by firm evidence, and are happy to work with authors to develop papers for the journal.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Environmental Science-Nature and Landscape Conservation
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 7%); most named United States 5, United Kingdom 2, Australia 2, Mainland China 1, Taiwan, China 1 (15 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource ManagementEnvironmental Science32.4%
- Ecology, Conservation, and Geographical StudiesEnvironmental Science15.5%
- Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesEnvironmental Science6.3%
- Wildlife Ecology and ConservationEnvironmental Science5.8%
- Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness ManagementPsychology4.5%
- Forest Management and PolicyEnvironmental Science3.9%
- Conservation, Ecology, Wildlife EducationEnvironmental Science3.7%
- Diverse Aspects of Tourism ResearchSocial Sciences3.4%
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.
CiteScore quartiles (Scopus, June 2026 release)
| Subject | Quartile | Rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature and Landscape Conservation | Q3 | 160/231 | — |
Scopus ranks journals by CiteScore within each subject: the 75th percentile and above is Q1, then a quartile every 25 points. A different system from the CAS zones.LetPub
Database indexing
ScopusDOAJLetPub
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
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.3LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.51LetPub ·
- h-index
- 32OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 126OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.87OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 438 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 12 | 12 | 339 |
| 2025 | 23 | 23 | 435 |
| 2024 | 20 | 20 | 540 |
| 2023 | 19 | 19 | 524 |
| 2022 | 17 | 17 | 573 |
| 2021 | 37 | 37 | 546 |
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 20 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 20 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single 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 | Publisher's own license | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
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 prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 6,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
Article types accepted14, with length limits
- book reviewrial, which does not have a word limit. Book Reviews and Letters should not exceed 1,500 words. Title and Abstract The title should not exceed 15 words unmain text ≤ 1,500 words
- book reviewsWe intend for each issue to include an editorial, around ten original peer reviewed papers, and non-peer reviewed articles including letters (a right of reply t…Length not stated
- case studiesPARKS welcomes submissions of original research, case studies, reviews, and perspectives related to protected areas and conservation.Length not stated
- editorialWe intend for each issue to include an editorial, around ten original peer reviewed papers, and non-peer reviewed articles including letters (a right of reply t…Length not stated
- full articlesub-headings are normally used. Length Full Articles should be a maximum of 6,000 words, including abstract, references and author biographies. Autmain text ≤ 6,000 words
- lettersWe intend for each issue to include an editorial, around ten original peer reviewed papers, and non-peer reviewed articles including letters (a right of reply t…Length not stated
- non-peer reviewed articlesNon-peer reviewed articles Letters (a right to reply to articles, etc.) and book reviews.Length not stated
- original peer reviewed papersWe intend for each issue to include an editorial, around ten original peer reviewed papers, and non-peer reviewed articles including letters (a right of reply t…Length not stated
- original researchPARKS welcomes submissions of original research, case studies, reviews, and perspectives related to protected areas and conservation.Length not stated
- peer-reviewed papersPARKS accepts two types of contribution: Peer-reviewed papersLength not stated
- perspectivesPARKS welcomes submissions of original research, case studies, reviews, and perspectives related to protected areas and conservation.Length not stated
- policy analysesPeer reviewed papers range from reviews and policy analyses to relevant research.Length not stated
- reviewsPeer reviewed papers range from reviews and policy analyses to relevant research.Length not stated
- short communicationrial, which does not have a word limit. Short Communications should be between 1,000 and 3,000 words, including abstract, references and author biographies. Autmain text ≤ 3,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, License & copyright, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use
Authors must disclose use of LLMs and AI tools in submitted articles; minor copy editing does not require disclosure; AI-generated tables and graphics are not accepted; undeclared AI use may lead to rejection without peer review; LLMs may not be used in peer review. Model summary
PARKS requires that authors disclose the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) and other AI tools in submitted articles.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship
Author opinions disclaimer - articles represent authors' analyses and opinions, not IUCN's. Model summary
All articles published in PARKS represent the analyses and opinions of the authors and not those of the IUCN or the IUCN WCPA.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
Open access licensing under BOAI definition. Model summary
PARKS adheres to the BOAI definition of open access and users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles published in the journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
PARKS assigns DOI numbers to all papers; references need to include DOI numbers where available. Model summary
PARKS assigns DOI numbers to all papers, which means all references need to include DOI numbers where available.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Text or substantial parts should not have been published in a peer reviewed journal elsewhere in English; translations into English of articles published in another language will be considered. Model summary
The text, or substantial parts of the text, should not have been published in a peer reviewed journal elsewhere in English – we will however consider translations into English of articles that were published in another language.
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
- IUCN - International Union for the Conservation of Nature
- Country or region
- Switzerland
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 0960-233X
- Electronic ISSN
- 2411-2119
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- 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 Parks
How long does peer review take at Parks?
Authors report an average review time of about 20 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Parks?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Keywords: ≥ 5; Manuscript length: ≤ 6,000 words; Reference style: APA. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Parks based?
Of the 15 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 7%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (5), United Kingdom (2) and Australia (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Parks?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Parks is indexed in Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Parks open access, and what is the APC?
Parks 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .