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  • Waqas 1,
  • Dilawar Khan 1,* and
  • Róbert Magda 2,3

Reviewer 1: Yasir Hayat Mughal Reviewer 2: Anonymous Reviewer 3: Theoharis Babanatsas Reviewer 4: Anonymous

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Respected Authors/Researchers

the article is well written but minor clarification are required.

1. VIF values presented in Table 3.2 are correct but if authors study latest books on statistics these books suggested VIF less than or equal to 5 are suggested. (Just for Authors Knowledge).

2. Add Relevant Alternate and Null hypotheses at th end of Literature as Table 4.3 indicates there were 3 hypotheses two aletrnate and one null which are accepted.

3. Add Discussion section and related hypotheses with past studies follwoed by Conclusion, Practical Implications and Limitations and Future Research Direction.

4. Add More latest references related with environemntal issues and performance while citations for statistcis are adequate.

5. Add Relevant Theory and research framework which supports your study.

Author Response

Reviewer 1

The article is well written but minor clarification are required.

  1. VIF values presented in Table 3.2 are correct but if authors study latest books on statistics these books suggested VIF less than or equal to 5 are suggested. (Just for Authors Knowledge).

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Acknowledged.

  1. Add Relevant Alternate and Null hypotheses at the end of Literature as Table 4.3 indicates there were hypotheses two alternate and one null which are accepted.

Authors’ response: Authors appreciate your suggestion. According to the conclusion given in Table 4.3, a relevant alternative and null hypotheses have been appended to the end of the literature.

  1. Add Discussion section and related hypotheses with past studies followed by Conclusion, Practical Implications and Limitations and Future Research Direction.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestions. Discussion section added keeping in view the reviewer’s instructions. Like this, limitations and future research direction have also been added in the section “study’s limitation and future research direction”.

  1. Add more latest references related with environmental issues and performance while citations for statistics are adequate.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Latest citations (2022) etc. have been added.

  1. Add Relevant Theory and research framework which supports your study.

Authors’ response: We appreciate your suggestion. In this article's Methodology section, pertinent theories that support the current investigation have been added.

Reviewer 2 Report

This paper focuses on a very interesting subject and is one to which the authors have made significant contributions. That being said, there are some points that require attention. I would advise the authors to consider the following comments:

  1. Line 42. In many cases and due to urbanization, it is necessary to perform clearing in forests and most importantly of peri-urban forests. For this reason, the authors should rephrase in a better way this statement and to support it by adding suitable citations.
  2. Lines 71-80. I would recommend authors to use literature sources from reputable journals. In addition, “wealthy countries” should be clarified. What are the characteristics of “wealthy countries”?
  3. The authors should also explain why they focused on the period 2001-2020.
  4. This research does not represent Asia due to the problems that occurred during the collection of data. This should be stated as a limitation of study.
  5. Lines 206-207. Here, the websites from where this information was derived should be added.
  6. Study results showed that the increase in exports of forest products and urbanization affect the emissions of CO2. Taking into account the primary data, the authors should state in which countries this problem is more intense. In addition, I would recommend adding data (increase in forest product export and urbanization) from the last years in order to acquire a better understanding of the effects of these changes on citizens’ daily life.  
  7. Although the paper is overall well-written, the text requires editing as there are few grammatical and syntactical errors.

Author Response

Reviewer 2

This paper focuses on a very interesting subject and is one to which the authors have made significant contributions. That being said, there are some points that require attention. I would advise the authors to consider the following comments:

 

  1. Line 42. In many cases and due to urbanization, it is necessary to perform clearing in forests and most importantly of peri-urban forests. For this reason, the authors should rephrase in a better way this statement and to support it by adding suitable citations.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. The statement does not match line 42.

  1. Lines 71-80. I would recommend authors to use literature sources from reputable journals. In addition, “wealthy countries” should be clarified. What are the characteristics of “wealthy countries”?

Authors’ response: Thank you for your suggestions. Rich countries are characterized on the basis of their national income, as the cited author stated that “There is a sharp divide in the state of the world's forests. In most rich countries across Europe, North America and East Asia, forest cover is increasing, while in many low- to middle-income countries it is decreasing.” However, in the indicated text the authors made corrections.

  1. The authors should also explain why they focused on the period 2001-2020.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Due to the availability of data, as already noted in the methodology section of the paper, the writers concentrated on the time period from 2001 to 2020.

  1. This research does not represent Asia due to the problems that occurred during the collection of data. This should be stated as a limitation of study.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Added study’s limitations in the article and stated the problems faced by authors in the collection of data.

  1. Lines 206-207. Here, the websites from where this information was derived should be added.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Added source organizations accordingly.

  1. Study results showed that the increase in exports of forest products and urbanization affect the emissions of CO2. Taking into account the primary data, the authors should state in which countries this problem is more intense. In addition, I would recommend adding data (increase in forest product export and urbanization) from the last years in order to acquire a better understanding of the effects of these changes on citizens’ daily life.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. The authors of this study used panel data for a few Asian countries, therefore rather than conducting a comparative analysis, they checked the overall influence on the chosen countries.

  

  1. Although the paper is overall well-written, the text requires editing as there are few grammatical and syntactical errors.

Authors’ response: Thank you for the advice. We carefully evaluated the manuscript for grammatical errors and corrected them in the revised version to improve it. Appropriate sentences and paragraphs have been revised. The updated manuscript contains evidence of these modifications.

Reviewer 3 Report

Abstract are too long. Use template indications. 

 in ine 15 correct GDP to Gross domestic product (GDP) 

In line 17 correct "from 2001 to 20" to "from 2001 to 2020"

Correct all chemical formulas in text. For example isn't CO2   correct is  CO2  the "2" must be subscript 

Correct figure 1.1 - you must have image and then text with "Figure 1.1 ....." . You have an image that looks like  print screen. Also line 97  "Trade-nased ... 20011-14" you must remove it and write under the image in explication text and correct 2011-14 to 2011-2014.

Line 159 missing space before and after "2. Literature Review" look at template indication  also you must correct to "2. Literature review"

Line 166 you have citation number before text "[9[" put it in the correct place

Line 168 correct this "world. [10] differentiated"  

Line 175 correct "forestations. [11] postulated" 

178 and 179 The studies of what? You can put citations for text. The citations indicate the text you use is from another source. 

I can indicate all similar erros. Please read and correct all citations (for exaple ypu have "forestations. [11] postulated", "found by [13] and", "quality. [15] Separated", "trade: 187 [16] also examined" and more like this)

Line 197 "3. Research Methodology" to "3. Research methodology"

Line 219 the "Table 3.1." must be bold correct is "Table 3.1. Variables’ Description"

Line 230 why formula 2 is bolded ? 

Line 231 the same obs like line 219

Line 285 "Pedroni, Kao [36 , 37, 38], and Johansen Fisher panel" why you use comma before and?  - When "and" combines two independent clauses, you should use a comma before “and“. Also correct "[36 , 37, 38]" to [36, 37, 38] without bolded text and comma. 

Missing space between 293 and 294 + use template indications. 
Missing explication text for Table 3.3. 
"Table 3.3." must be bolded like template indications. In table is ??? = 0. in text (line 312) is  ??? = 0. Also why is bolded ? 

Line 324 why formula is bolded? 

Line 372   move line in the same page with table

Line 386  Use template indications. 
Line 390  "were created by [26]." By who? 

Line 400 to 411. is better to have explication text fort table 4.5 and then the table. 

Line 422 correct "results [40, 39]." to "results [39, 40]."
Try to find and to correct all the other errors in your paper. 

From template all figure and table text must be centered and bolded:
"Figure 1. This is a figure. Schemes follow the same formatting.

 

 

Table 1. This is a table. Tables should be placed in the main text near to the first time they are cited."

Author Response

Reviewer 3

  1. Abstract are too long. Use template indications.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Summarized according to the template indication.

  1. In line 15 correct GDP to Gross domestic product (GDP).

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Corrected accordingly.

  1. In line 17 correct "from 2001 to 20" to "from 2001 to 2020".

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Corrected accordingly.

  1. Correct all chemical formulas in text. For example isn't CO2   correct is  the "2" must be subscript.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Corrected accordingly throughout the whole article.

  1. Correct figure 1.1 - you must have image and then text with "Figure 1.1 ....." . You have an image that looks like print screen. Also line 97 "Trade-based ... 20011-14" you must remove it and write under the image in explication text and correct 2011-14 to 2011-2014.

Authors’ response: we appreciate your suggestions. According to the format of the article, the authors modified Figure 1.1. The indicated text has been removed and the figure explanation section has also been revised according to the reviewer's instructions.

  1. Line 159 missing space before and after "2. Literature Review" look at template indication also you must correct to "2. Literature review".

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Reviewed and corrected accordingly.

  1. Line 166 you have citation number before text "[9]" put it in the correct place.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Reviewing line 166, the writers made the necessary corrections.

  1. Line 168 correct this " [10] Differentiated"  

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. In the cited line, the authors changed the word and corrected citation.

  1. Line 175 correct " [11] postulated" 

Authors’ response: we appreciate your suggestion. The highlighted words have been changed.

  1. 178 and 179 the studies of what? You can put citations for text. The citations indicate the text you use is from another source. 

Authors’ response: Thank you for the suggestion. The content has previously cited in accordance with the journal's format.

  1. I can indicate all similar errors. Please read and correct all citations (for example you have " [11] Postulated", "found by [13] and", "quality. [15] Separated", "trade: 187 [16] also examined" and more like this).

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestions. The authors have read the said content and made the necessary corrections in accordance with the journal's format.

  1. Line 197 " Research Methodology" to "3. Research methodology"

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Corrected accordingly.

  1. Line 219 the "Table 3.1." must be bold correct is "Table 3.1.Variables’ Description".

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Corrected according to the journal’s format.

  1. Line 230 why formula 2 is bolded? 

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Corrected according to the journal’s format.

  1. Line 231 the same obs like line 219

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. In accordance with the reviewer's suggestions, font reviewed and corrected.

  1. Line 285 "Pedroni, Kao [36 , 37, 38], and Johansen Fisher panel" why you use comma before and?  - When "and" combines two independent clauses, you should use a comma before “and“. Also correct "[36 , 37, 38]" to [36, 37, 38] without bolded text and comma. 

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Reviewed and removed unnecessary commas.

  1. Missing space between 293 and 294 + use template indications. 

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Corrected according to the journal’s format.

  1. Missing explication text for Table 3.3. 

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion.

  1. "Table 3.3." must be bolded like template indications. In table is ??? = 0. in text (line 312) is  ???= 0. Also why is bolded? 

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Corrected accordingly.

  1. Line 324 why formula is bolded? 

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Corrected accordingly.

  1. Line 372   move line in the same page with table

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Corrected accordingly.

  1. Line 386 Use template indications. 

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Used template indications accordingly.

  1. Line “390” were created by [26]." By who? 

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Citation added.

  1. Line 400 to 411. is better to have explication text fort table 4.5 and then the table. 

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Corrected accordingly.

  1. Line 422 correct "results [40, 39]." to "results [39, 40]."

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Citation updated.

  1. Try to find and to correct all the other errors in your paper. 

Authors’ response: The authors examined and revised the entire article and corrected errors identified in the manuscript.

  1. From template all figure and table text must be centered and bolded:
    "Figure 1. This is a figure. Schemes follow the same formatting.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Same format followed.

  1. Table 1.This is a table. Tables should be placed in the main text near to the first time they are cited."

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Placed accordingly.

Reviewer 4 Report

The topic of the paper „The Impact of Forest Wood Product’s Exports on Environmental Performance in Asia“ is very important nowadays. The paper presents of analysis results how forest wood products’ exports, energy use, urbanization, and GDP per capita in Asia affect environmental performance.

Comment 1: The whole paper needs English corrections.

The title, abstract and the keywords correspond to the aims and objectives of the manuscript.

The abstract is informative and contains the main findings of the article

Line 17: Please use …  data for 31 Asian countries from 2001 to 2020.

The introduction is very well-prepared, structured, and informative, and the aim of the research is clearly outlined and justified.

Comment 2: Please correct CO2 to CO2 throughout the text.

Comment 3: Reviewer suggests deleting the text in lines 156 to 158.

Comment 4:  Reviewer thinks that the text in Lines 160 – 165 can be deleting.

Comment 5: Reviewer recommends mentioning the name of the cited authors, not just the order, if the authors refer to his results. E.g. Line 168: Hasanov et al. [10] differentiated ....

Lines 328 - 330: the explanation of abbreviations FE, EC, YP that is already given in lines 213 - 214 is repeated.

Units are not listed in Tab.4.1. 

The results obtained from the study are clearly presented, detailed.

The Conclusion  reflects the main findings of the manuscript.

The manuscript is of an acceptable standard for publication but requires minor corrections and spell checking.

 

Author Response

Reviewer 4

 The topic of the paper “The Impact of Forest Wood Product’s Exports on Environmental Performance in Asia” is very important nowadays. The paper presents of analysis results how forest wood products’ exports, energy use, urbanization, and GDP per capita in Asia affect environmental performance.

Comment 1: The whole paper needs English corrections.

Authors’ response: we appreciate your advice. Checked the entire article for errors and made the appropriate corrections.

  1. The title, abstract and the keywords correspond to the aims and objectives of the manuscript.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your appreciation.

  1. The abstract is informative and contains the main findings of the article

Authors’ response: Thanks for your appreciation.

  1. Line 17: Please use …  data for 31 Asian countries from 2001 to 2020.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Changed accordingly

  1. The introduction is very well-prepared, structured, and informative, and the aim of the research is clearly outlined and justified.

Authors’ response: Thanks for appreciation.

Comment 2: Please correct CO2 to CO2 throughout the text.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Changed accordingly

Comment 3: Reviewer suggests deleting the text in lines 156 to 158.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your advice. This paragraph is found at the end of the introduction in most research papers published in sustainability journal. Therefore, the authors request the reviewer to accept the text provided at the end of the introduction section.

Comment 4:  Reviewer thinks that the text in Lines 160 – 165 can be deleting.

Authors’ response: We appreciate your guidance. Since each chapter begins with an opening paragraph, the writers request to accept the content.

Comment 5: Reviewer recommends mentioning the name of the cited authors, not just the order, if the authors refer to his results. E.g. Line 168: Hasanov et al. [10] differentiated....

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Authors have followed the journal’s format.

Lines 328 - 330: the explanation of abbreviations FE, EC, YP that is already given in lines 213 - 214 is repeated.

Authors’ response: we appreciate your suggestion. The GMM equation is explained in lines 328 to 330, whereas the variables used in the study's model are explained in lines 213 to 214.

Units are not listed in Tab.4.1. 

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Unit of measurements are already presented and discussed in Table 3.1 of the methodology section. 

The results obtained from the study are clearly presented, detailed.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your appreciation.

The Conclusion reflects the main findings of the manuscript.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your appreciation.

The manuscript is of an acceptable standard for publication but requires minor corrections and spell checking.

Authors’ response: Thank you very much. Reviewed the whole manuscript and corrected all grammatical and spelling mistakes.

Round 2

Reviewer 3 Report

Line 96 and 101 correct CO2 to CO2

In my opinion is unacceptable to use text like "Ref. [10] concluded" If I want to read your paper from page 6 I need to go back to search reference to see who is Ref. 10 and after search on internet to see for what is about, Also in scientific paper we don't use abbreviations (Why Ref. and not Reference?)

As my previews review pleas correct all similar errors.

Line 353  "including [19,20]." including what???  All similar errors like "results [43, 44]." (I didn't see any results).

Line 599 CO2 to CO2  

Line 603 CO2it-1 to CO2it-1

Line 752 CO2 to CO2

And all similar errors 

Author Response

  1. Line 96 and 101 correct CO2 to CO2

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Corrected accordingly throughout the article.

  1. In my opinion is unacceptable to use text like "Ref. [10] concluded" If I want to read your paper from page 6 I need to go back to search reference to see who is Ref. 10 and after search on internet to see for what is about, Also in scientific paper we don't use abbreviations (Why Ref. and not Reference?) As my previews review pleas correct all similar errors.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your advice. The authors corrected all similar citations according to your valuable instructions.

  1. Line 353 “including [19, 20]." including what???  All similar errors like "results [43, 44]." (I didn't see any results).

Authors’ response:  I appreciate your advice. In accordance with your helpful advice, the authors have updated all citations.

  1. Line 599 CO2 to CO2 

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Corrected accordingly throughout the article.

  1. Line 603 CO2it-1 to CO2it-1

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Corrected accordingly.

  1. Line 752 CO2 to CO2 and all similar errors.

Authors’ response: Thanks for your suggestion. Corrected accordingly.

Round 3

Reviewer 3 Report

Better now. 
Keep attention on line 766 "devise reliable results [43, 44]." why don't you use something like "devise reliable results indicated by Blundell, R., & Bond, S. and by Arellano, M., & Bover, O.  [43, 44]."

Author Response

 

 

  1. Keep attention on line 766 "devise reliable results [43, 44]." why don't you use something like "devise reliable results indicated by Blundell, R., & Bond, S. and by Arellano, M., & Bover, O.  [43, 44]."

Authors’ response: Thanks for your insightful advice. According to the journal format and taking into account the reviewer's instructions, the authors made the necessary corrections.