Call for Papers—Regional Sustainability Special Issue—Green Sustainability in Tajikistan: Bridging Science, Policy, and Community Action

I. Context

Tajikistan, as a quintessential mountainous country with over 90% of its territory covered by high-altitude landscapes, serves as the primary water tower for Central Asia. Its alpine glaciers—concentrated in the Pamir Mountains and western Tianshan Mountains—feed the headwaters of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, two transboundary river systems that collectively irrigate 85% of the region's farmland, drive hydroelectric generation, and sustain fragile arid ecosystems. Nevertheless, accelerated glacial retreat, accompanied by unsustainable irrigation practices and climate-driven extreme weather events, now jeopardizes regional water security, endangers biodiversity, and exacerbates socio-economic vulnerabilities in this mountainous country.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 15 (Life on Land), and SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), underscore the need for integrated approaches to conserve water resources, protect biodiversity, and promote sustainable development in fragile mountain regions. This Special Issue aims to compile cutting-edge research on Tajikistan’s water resources, biodiversity conservation, and their linkages with sustainable development. It seeks to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among scientists, policymakers, and local stakeholders to develop adaptive management strategies and equitable governance frameworks.

II. Topics

The topics of the Special Issue include but are not limited to the following:

(1) Water resource dynamics in Tajikistan under climate change, including glacier retreat, river flow variability, and groundwater depletion;

(2) Biodiversity conservation in mountain ecosystems, focusing on endemic and endangered species, habitat degradation, and ecosystem services;

(3) Water resources utilization and transboundary water governance: Balancing energy needs, aquatic ecosystem health, and regional cooperation;

(4) Socio-economic vulnerabilities and community-based adaptation strategies in water- and biodiversity-dependent regions;

(5) Sustainable land use practices, including agroecology, pasture management, and reforestation to enhance ecosystem resilience;

(6) Policy and institutional frameworks aligning with the SDGs to promote integrated water-biodiversity-sustainability solutions;

(7) Technological innovations (e.g., remote sensing, modeling, AI) for monitoring water resources and biodiversity changes.

III. About Regional Sustainability

Regional Sustainability is an international, peer-reviewed journal sponsored by Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Served as a platform for researchers to explore the relationships among environment, economy and society, the journal publishes high-quality articles in multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary subjects relating to environmental protection, economic development and social development.

The journal operates under a subsidized open access model, with the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences covering Article Processing Charges (APCs). All published articles are made immediately and permanently available under an open access license, ensuring free access for readers worldwide to read, download, copy, and distribute the work in accordance with the journal's sharing policies.

In 2024, the journal received its first Journal Impact Factor (JIF) following its inclusion in ESCI, achieving a score of 4.3. This placed the journal in the Q1 category for Environmental Studies (43/182) and Q2 for Environmental Sciences (105/358). In the same year, the journal attained a Scopus CiteScore citation metric of 6.0, ranking within the Q1 category in the fields of Urban Studies, Development, and Geography, Planning and Development.

IV. REGSUS-SI202506 Editor Team

Guest Editor in Chief:

Yuanming Zhang, Director General of Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences (E-mail: zhangym@ms.xjb.ac.cn)

Khushvakhtzoda Kobiljon Khushvakht, President of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan (E-mail: kobil_barfiev@mail.ru)

Guest Editors:

Ali R Fazylov, professor of the laboratory "Hydraulic Engineering Structures" of Institute of Water Problems, Hydropower and Ecology of National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan (E-mail: alifazilov53@gmail.com)

Andrei Korolyuk, professor of Central Siberian Botanical Garden, Russian Academy of Sciences (E-mail: akorolyuk@rambler.ru)

Daoyuan Zhang, professor of Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences (E-mail: Zhangdy@ms.xjb.ac.cn)

Georgy Lazkov, professor of Department of Institute of Biology at National Academy of Sciences, Kyrgyzstan (E-mail: glazkov1963@mail.ru)

Keping Ma, professor of Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (E-mail: kpma@ibcas.ac.cn)

Khabibullo Shomurodov, professor of Institute of Botany, Uzbekistan (E-mail: h.shomurodov@mail.ru)

Roman Jashenko, professor of Institute of Zoology of the Republic of Kazakhstan (E-mail: romajashenko@yahoo.com)

Sheralizoda Nazrialo, professor of the State Scientific Institution "Center for Glacier Research" of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan (E-mail: nazrialo@mail.ru)

Weili Duan, professor of Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences (E-mail: duanweili@ms.xjb.ac.cn)

Yaoming Ma, professor of Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (E-mail: ymma@itpcas.ac.cn)

V. Submission of Full Papers

The REGSUS-SI202506 Editor Team invites both original research papers and review papers that fit within the scope outlined in this document. The focus of the submitted papers should lie on green sustainability in Tajikistan, but comparative studies and methodological papers are also welcome as long as they are relevant for the topics of this special issue.

Please carefully read and follow the Guide for Authors at:

http://regsus.xjegi.com/EN/column/column23.shtml

Before submitting paper, please creat a user account and then submit all relevant files online at:

https://www.editorialmanager.com/regsus

When submitting manuscript online, please select the special issue "REGSUS-SI202506: Green Sustainability in Tajikistan: Bridging Science, Policy, and Community Action" in the Editorial Manager system (https://www.editorialmanager.com/regsus), then proceed with the submission. The submission period for this special issue is as follows:

Submission Opens: 1 May 2025

Submission Deadline: 31 August 2025

First Decision: 30 November 2025 

Expected Publication: December 2025 or June 2026