Type of organization
Saastal is a scientific journal specializing in the field of Life Sciences, with particular emphasis on its intersection with Applied and Environmental Sciences. The journal is sponsored by Editorial Unión Científica, an institution based in Ambato, Ecuador, dedicated to excellence in the communication and dissemination of academic and scientific knowledge.
Editorial Unión Científica is a non-profit academic entity (not-for-profit). Its primary mission is the production, publication, and dissemination of high-quality scientific knowledge through Open Access books and journals.
Although the publishing house covers diverse areas of knowledge, Saastal represents its main editorial focus in the fields of Life Sciences, Applied Sciences, and Environmental Sciences.
Editorial commitments and services
As the technical and scientific sponsor of the journal, the publisher guarantees:
- Academic integrity: rigorous implementation of a double-blind peer review process and permanent oversight of ethical standards established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
- Technical quality: manuscript processing in accordance with international editorial standards (IEEE), professional layout, and semantic tagging using the XML-JATS standard.
- Innovation management: implementation of editorial policies regarding the ethical and responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), research data availability (Open Data), and transparency in conflict-of-interest declarations.
- Global visibility: dissemination through the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform, ensuring proper metadata harvesting by international indexing systems and repositories.
Organizational and legal structure
The editorial management of Saastal is supported by the following hierarchical structure:
- General Director: responsible for administrative coordination and ensuring compliance with the institutional vision and mission.
- Editor-in-Chief and Scientific Committee: bodies with full academic autonomy in evaluating manuscripts and making decisions regarding scientific content.
- Legal entity: legal and financial responsibility for the journal rests with Editorial Unión Científica, EUC, an entity registered in Ambato, Ecuador.
Sustainability model
The journal operates under a social reinvestment model aimed at ensuring the sustainability of open access publishing. Revenue obtained through Article Processing Charges (APCs) is exclusively allocated to:
- Maintenance and continuous improvement of the open access editorial technological infrastructure.
- Long-term digital preservation of content (LOCKSS/CLOCKSS).
- Promotion and international visibility of the journal’s authors and publications.
- Payment for specialized technical services (XML tagging and DOI registration).
