Analyzing the Spatiotemporal Pattern and Interaction of SDGs for Sustainable Development in Inner Mongolia

Increased global climate change and contradictions in human–land relationships has aroused awareness of studies on regional sustainable development. Whether SDGs and their interactions are suitable for analyzing the fine scale of regional differentiation of sustainable development, especially in ecologically sensitive regions, was still in suspense. This study analyzed the inter-annual changes and regional clustering of SDGs and the interactions among SDGs, and among their indicators, at both provincial and municipal levels in Inner Mongolia. We found the sustainable development was relatively higher in the east than in the west. SDG5, SDG6, SDG10, SDG11, and SDG15 got cold spots in the west and hot spots in the east. For most SDGs and indicators, synergies outweigh trade-offs. Improvement measures should focus on the indices with strong synergies such as SDG3 and SDG7, and SOC2, ECO1, ECO4, and ECO5. Special attention should be put on those with trade-offs such as ECO15 and ENV20 to be aware of their opposite effects. SDG5 and ECO2 were the most important in the entire network that need attention. Considering only singular or a few SDGs may not be feasible when assessing sustainable development because other goals or indicators may play roles. Reasonable improvements for sustainable development needed to clarify synergies and trade-offs among SDGs and indicators.