Gondwana Research: Two decades of publishing partnership

The International Association for Gondwana Research (IAGR), the owner of Gondwana Research (GR), is completing two decades of pub- lishing partnership with Elsevier, one of the most fruitful collaborations in the field. GR started publication in 1997, and prior to the publishing partnership with Elsevier, the journal was published by IAGR. During that period, it experienced continuous growth and increasing global visibility, gaining accreditation from several indexing agencies, including Web of Science, and achieving a steady rise in impact factor and reach. Over the years, GR has earned a reputation as one of the higher ranking and prestigious journals in its field, supported by a reputed and efficient editorial team, rigorous quality control, and a strong commitment to ethical standards. We extend our sincere thanks to the IAGR officials, Editors, Authors, Reviewers, Patrons, and col- leagues who have helped elevate GR to its current level of excellence. We are also proud to have had Elsevier as our publishing partner since 2005. The Journal will celebrate its 30th Anniversary in 2027. At this time, we plan to publish a comprehensive statement highlighting the history of GR since its inception, and how it has contributed to the global scientific community in accordance with the Society’s bye-laws, which state that “IAGR aims at the integration and dissemination of knowledge on Earth history and geological processes for sustaining the human society”, reflecting our continued pursuit of excellence in disseminating scientific knowledge. As an “all earth science” journal, GR has long served as a platform for integrating research across different disciplines and geological regions, while also addressing important themes under Sustainable Development Goals from a geoscience perspective. In addition to regular articles and thematic issues, the journal has published high profile, state-of-the-art reviews on thrust area topics in the ’GR FOCUS REVIEWS’ column, as well as groundbreaking discoveries and innovative models of global interest in the ‘GR LETTERS’ section. Recently, GR was subject to social media attention concerning alleged Editor-Author conflicts in some published papers. Notably, none of these papers contained scientific disputes. There was also allegation that the GR Editor handled his co-authored submissions to the journal. Investigations revealed that these allegations were inaccurate, and the incorrect attribution of handling editor names in the published version of certain papers resulted from a production system error, which has since been rectified. The Journal regrets the confusion this has caused. Because the modified Declaration of conflict interest for papers involving journal editors as co-authors was made mandatory only recently, earlier articles did not include such disclosure. Following advice from the Publisher, we have since implemented corrective mea- sures. We have also revised the workflow of the journal, and introduced stricter policies and procedures to ensure greater transparency and up- hold the highest ethical standards, in alignment with COPE guidelines and the Publisher’s policies. We look forward to the continued support and patronage of all our contributors, readers, and well-wishers.