Abstract
Open-access publishing involves a business model where authors pay
article processing charges, and subsequently, the article is freely
available online. For African researchers, the shift to open access
publishing flips the business model from a pay-wall model, where
accessing literature is difficult, to a pay-to-play one, where it is
difficult to publish. We explore costs of publishing in the 40 top
ecology journals and the ability of African scholars to pay for open
access. Three quarters of journals required payment for open-access
publishing and the average cost was $3,150. Paying such fees would be a
hardship for African scholars as grant funding is not available.
Furthermore, it is not feasible for Africa scholars to pay the fees
themselves as salaries are low. We encourage funders and publishers to
facilitate a more equitable publishing realm where African scholars can
see their research made available through open-access.