ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Environmental Economics and Management
Sustainable Development on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau:Assessing Progress, Obstacles, and Future Pathways underthe SDG Framework
- WL
Wei Liu 1
- TW
Ting Wang 2
- WM
Weijing MA 3
- ZM
Zhong Ma 2
- MZ
Meng Zhu 1
1. Chinese Academy of Sciences Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Lanzhou, China
2. Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, China
3. Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
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Abstract
Despite the widespread proliferation of sustainable development research globally, systematic assessments aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remain notably scarce for ecologically fragile high-altitude regions such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) region. To address the deficiency in quantitative sustainability assessments for the QTP region, this study integrates an economic-social-ecological indicator framework with multiple analytical methods: linear weighting for spatiotemporal patterns, coupling coordination for systemic synergy, Spearman's correlation for trade-off/synergy identification, obstacle degree for constraint diagnosis, and SSP-based system dynamics for scenario simulation. The results show that: (1) The QTP region has shifted from weak sustainability to preliminary strong sustainability, with ecological subsystem lagging behind; its spatial superiority has transferred from northern and eastern regions to eastern and southern regions. (2) The overall coupling coordination degree increased from 0.158 to 0.504, but remains at a relatively low level. Economic-ecosystem coordination is the weakest, with areas of high coordination primarily concentrated in the south and margin regions. (3) SDGs targets are mainly synergistic; SDG 1 generates the most prominent positive correlations, while SDG 12 dominates trade-off effects. (4) Constraints on regional sustainability have transformed from socioeconomic limitations to ecological barriers including energy consumption, chemical fertilizer input and carbon emissions. (5) Under baseline calibration, SSP1 outperforms other scenarios in comprehensive sustainability, while SSP5 would likely intensify ecological pressures and constrain coordination. This multidimensional quantification clarifies the evolutionary mechanisms of QTP sustainability and provides empirical support for differentiated governance balancing ecological protection and socioeconomic progress.
Summary
Keywords
Obstacle factors, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Scenario simulation, sustainable development, Synergy and trade-offs
Received
14 April 2026
Accepted
27 July 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Liu, Wang, MA, Ma and Zhu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Weijing MA
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