Qubahan EcoLead Journal (QELJ) is committed to ensuring that all research involving human participants and animals complies with recognized ethical standards and applicable regulations.

• Authors conducting research involving human participants or animals must ensure that their studies do not pose unnecessary risks and obtain approval from an appropriate institutional ethics committee where required.

• Research involving human participants or animals must comply with applicable national and international ethical standards and legal requirements.

• For studies involving human participants, authors must obtain informed consent and provide an appropriate ethics approval statement, unless an authorized exemption or waiver applies.

• For research involving human images, interviews, surveys, field observations, or personal information, authors must protect participants' identities and obtain appropriate consent for publication when individuals are identifiable.

• Research involving animals, wildlife, or ecological field studies must receive prior ethical approval and relevant permits where required and comply with applicable animal welfare and environmental protection regulations.

• Ethical approval and necessary permissions must be obtained before conducting research whenever required by the relevant regulatory or institutional authorities.

• Animal research must follow recognized ethical guidelines, ensuring appropriate care, humane treatment, minimal suffering, and protection of biodiversity and natural habitats.

• Authors must include an ethics statement in the Methods section specifying the approving committee, approval number (where applicable), and relevant consent procedures.

• Research involving environmental assessments, sustainability studies, community development, ecological surveys, or human-generated datasets must respect privacy, confidentiality, environmental protection, and applicable ethical requirements.

• QELJ strongly encourages the 3Rs principles (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) to minimize animal use and improve animal welfare in scientific research.

This policy follows applicable ethical principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and relevant international research ethics guidelines.