The dynamic changes and complex relationships of sustainable development goals in Tibet

Abstract

Balancing socioeconomic progress with environmental conservation is a main challenge to sustainable development in less developed regions. To advance regional sustainable development, it is essential to understand the dynamics of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), identify synergies and trade-offs among them, and strive to enhance the former while reducing the latter. In this study, we selected 17 SDG indicators to establish an evaluation framework for measuring SDGs progress at the county level in Tibet from 2015 to 2022. Then Spearman correlation analysis was applied to explore the complex relationships among the SDGs. The results indicated that Tibet's sustainable development level showed a gradual upward trend overall from 2015 to 2022, while the scores were still low, with an average SDG score of 35.48 in 2022. The gap between SDG indicators was large, except SDG 13.2.2 (Carbon dioxide emissions), SDG 6.3.1 (Per capita annual quantity of waste-water discharged), and SDG 11.6.2 (Annual mean concentration of PM_2.5), the rest of SDG indicators scored low. Counties with lower scores were primarily concentrated in the Qiangtang Plateau. In conjunction with the Moran's I, the spatial correlation among different counties weakened over time. The unevenness existed in sustainable development, and there were obvious differences among counties for the same SDG indicator. The interaction analysis showed that there were 23 synergies and 18 trade-offs among the 67 pairs of SDG indicators. From 2015 to 2022, the number of synergies increased from 14 to 20, and trade-offs from 11 to 18. This study provides a theoretical foundation for ecological civilization construction in Tibet and offers decision-making references for the sustainable development of economically underdeveloped regions with good ecological conditions.