Looking to the future, building on the past

The social-ecological systems in which we live and work are highly dynamic, with change intrinsic and pervasive. It is this source of uncertainty that makes the use, conservation and restoration of nature so challenging, but it is also a source of much of the richness and inspiration that we find in nature. Change takes many forms: both in terms of the evolution of species, shifting ecological patterns and processes, and in terms of the ways societies evolve, changing the ways we interact with our physical environment.

Landholders, volunteers, students, policy-makers, researchers and practitioners paradoxically seek to ensure the persistence of nature through working with change; through directing pattern and process along desirable trajectories. Some elements may be relatively amenable to change while others consistently prove highly challenging. Further, sometimes our interventions produce unanticipated perverse outcomes.

Ecological Management & Restoration has been reporting on activities aimed at understanding and driving changes within social-ecological systems since 2000. During this time, much as with social-ecological systems, the Journal has undergone and navigated several major and important changes as it has evolved.

One change that the Journal has recently navigated is a transition in leadership – and this editorial is jointly penned by the incoming Editor-in Chief Andrew Knight and outgoing Editor Tein McDonald. As the journal’s long-time Editor, Tein has overseen the Journal since its inception in 2000. During her tenure, the journal has sought to effect positive change in the journal publishing world in terms of encouraging practitioner and manager contributions and readership in Australasia. The purpose of this is to lessen the gap between researchers and managers and thus improve the management of biodiversity in our region. Achieving progress with this aspiration has not always been easy. While affiliate relationships with practitioner organisations started early and are increasing, our application for listing the journal on the Web of Science to gain an Impact Factor resulted in suggestions from the assessors that the journal become less management focused. This pressure was resisted by the journal's Board, a commitment that was ultimately rewarded with a relatively high Impact Factor for an applied science journal, showing that navigating change sometimes requires not only flexibility but persistence. However, further rapid change in the world of publishing is now presenting new challenges. The more recent (highly desirable) push for Open Access for all journals, for example, has the potential to limit the inclusion of practitioner-led contributions in Ecological Management & Restoration and other journals unless solutions can be found. The Ecological Society of Australia, who takes seriously its commitment to engaging with landholders, volunteers, students, policy-makers and practitioners who work outside of universities, is now well-positioned to work with our practitioner affiliate organisations and Wiley, our publisher, to seek solutions to improve affordability of Open Access for not only academic authors, but also practitioner authors. We will work towards creative solutions so that Ecological Management & Restoration can successfully navigate these changing circumstances and so maintain and enhance a legacy of increasing practitioner input and readership.

Change has also been ever-present in terms of the topics covered by the Journal over the decades. While always maintaining a strong foundation in ecology, an early emphasis on terrestrial vegetation management has gradually expanded to include substantial contributions from fauna specialists and those working in freshwater and marine ecosystems. Over the years, there has also been greater inclusion of social-ecological topics, particularly those involving Indigenous-led land and water management. As the journal progresses under new leadership, and in-line with Andrew’s experience and expertise, a greater focus will be brought to bear on the human, social and economic dimensions of the social-ecological systems we manage.

Ecological Management & Restoration will continue to evolve into the future under Andrew’s leadership. This will be based upon strategic consultation with the leadership of the society, its active members and the readership more broadly. The goal will be to seek and ensure that the elements valued by these groups and sought in the Journal continue to evolve in-line with expectations and needs. Andrew is happy to receive, and will seek, the insights of the Editorial Board, and you, the reader, as to how we can collectively drive positive change to the make the Journal the repository of ‘knowing’ and ‘doing’ the social and ecological science and practice that forms the foundation of what we want the Journal to be.

We have been working closely to direct the successional change in leadership of Ecological Management & Restoration to ensure that the Journal continues its successful journey in providing a service to Ecological Society of Australia members and the broader community of practice focused on ecological management and restoration. It has been a rewarding time. We have both learnt a lot and enjoyed working together to ensure that the Journal maintains the high standards that Tein has established and that lays the foundation for moving forward. We have exchanged experiences, insights and learning to navigate the change together, with the final stage of Tein’s departure being to mentor, in 2022, the new Ecological Management & Restoration Project Summaries Editor (https://site.emrprojectsummaries.org/).

We wish to thank those who have assisted us with this, including Ecological Society of Australia President Bek Christensen, President-Elect Pep Turner, staff Gail Spina and Grace Heathcote, Austral Ecology Editor-in-Chief Nigel Andrew, the members of the Editorial Board and staff from Wiley, the publisher.

Change is pervasive and inevitable with the Ecological Management & Restoration as it is with social-ecological systems. We have worked together to successfully navigate this change. We are pleased with how this pathway has been forged. We are both looking forward to working with the Ecological Society of Australia membership, Editors, Reviewers, Authors, the Wiley team and our readers to provide examples of pathways that you have navigated to positively direct change to the benefit of the ecosystem and human communities we all value.