Evaluation of rural landscape resources based on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): a case study in Xindu district, Chengdu city

Global progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is slow, with only 17% on track by 2024. China is pursuing localized sustainability efforts under the 2030 Agenda, which outlines 17 SDGs for global challenges. Nearly half the goals are advancing slowly, while over one-third are stalled or regressing. Balancing growth and environmental protection remains a key challenge for China and other nations. Rural China, in particular, confronts issues such as urban-rural disparities, environmental degradation, population loss, and industrial decline, highlighting the importance of rural revitalization for sustainable development. Therefore, it is imperative to establish a scientific and localized evaluation system for the sustainable development of rural landscape resources in China. This study takes the rural areas of Xindu District, Chengdu City, as the research subject. Based on the degree of human activity involvement in the landscape, an evaluation system was constructed from three dimensions: natural landscape resources, semi-natural landscape resources, and artificial landscape resources. Guided by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 27 specific indicators were selected, and an evaluation framework was established. The entropy method was employed to assign weights, enabling a quantitative assessment of 127 administrative villages in Xindu District. The findings reveal the following: (1) There are significant spatial disparities in the sustainable development levels of rural landscape resources in Xindu District, with these levels showing a notable correlation with urbanization zones and major river basins; (2) The sustainable development status of rural landscape resources in Xindu District is uneven, with a relatively small proportion of villages achieving high scores; (3) The sustainability of landscape resources primarily relies on natural and semi-natural landscape resources. By integrating the SDGs with landscape characteristics, this study achieves the localized application of the SDGs at a small-scale rural level, offering a solution to the issue of scale mismatch in SDG implementation. It provides a scientific foundation for the refined evaluation of rural landscape resources, rural planning, and natural resource management practices in Xindu District.