Report on the Sustainable Development Model of Lankao County

Executive Summary

This report details the significant socio-economic and environmental transformation of Lankao County, Henan Province, as observed during a field visit by delegates of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Media and Think Tank Summit on July 26. The county’s journey from a region afflicted by natural disasters to a model of prosperity provides a compelling case study on the integrated implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in the areas of poverty eradication, environmental restoration, and sustainable economic growth.

SCO Summit Field Visit to Lankao County

On July 26, as part of the SCO Media and Think Tank Summit, a delegation comprising media representatives, think tank scholars, and government officials visited Lankao County. The objective was to observe firsthand the region’s comprehensive revitalization, focusing on its successful strategies for environmental governance and industrial development, which directly align with multiple SDGs.

Itinerary and Key Observations

1. Jiao Yulu Memorial Park: Delegates learned about the historical efforts to combat environmental degradation, a foundational element for achieving SDG 15 (Life on Land).
2. Huanghewan (Yellow River Bay): The visit highlighted successful ecological protection and high-quality development initiatives, crucial for SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 15.
3. Guyang Music Town: This stop showcased the transition from raw materials to a high-value industry, demonstrating a model for SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).

Lankao’s Transformation: A Case Study in Sustainable Development

Combating Environmental Degradation and Climate Change (SDG 13, SDG 15)

Lankao’s development was predicated on addressing severe environmental challenges. This foundational work has been critical to building a resilient and sustainable community.

• Historical Challenges: The county was historically plagued by sandstorms, saline-alkaline soil, and waterlogging, which severely hindered agriculture and quality of life.
• Ecological Restoration Initiatives:
  • Systematic afforestation, primarily with paulownia trees, was implemented to stabilize soil and act as a windbreak, directly addressing land degradation and contributing to SDG 15 (Life on Land).
  • The creation of a 1,500-kilometer ecological corridor and 200,000 mu of ecological forest land has mitigated the effects of climate-related disasters, aligning with SDG 13 (Climate Action).
  • Former disaster areas have been repurposed into ecotourism resources, including restored wetlands for birdwatching, creating economic value from environmental protection.

Fostering Sustainable Economic Growth and Eradicating Poverty (SDG 1, SDG 8, SDG 12)

Leveraging its restored environment, Lankao has built a diversified economy that has lifted the region out of poverty, directly achieving SDG 1 (No Poverty).

1. Paulownia-Based Industries: The paulownia tree, once planted for ecological reasons, now fuels a circular economy.
   • Musical Instrument Manufacturing: Xuchang Village has become a major producer of traditional instruments like the guzheng and guqin, generating 150 million CNY in annual output and exporting to over 10 countries. This creates skilled, decent work under SDG 8.
   • Home-Furnishing Industry: The local timber supports a modern home-furnishing sector with an income exceeding 50 billion CNY, demonstrating a successful model of SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) by using local, sustainable resources.
2. Clean Energy Transition: Lankao is actively contributing to SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy).
   • Extensive photovoltaic panel fields generate clean solar power.
   • Modern wind turbines contribute to the energy grid, meeting local demand and allowing for transmission to other regions.

Advancing Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security (SDG 2)

The transformation of previously barren land has been central to ensuring food security and creating new agricultural value chains, in line with SDG 2 (Zero Hunger).

• Land Reclamation: Former saline-alkali lands have been converted into high-standard, fertile farmland.
• Diversified Agriculture: The cultivation of high-value, salt-tolerant crops such as sweet potatoes, honey melons, and peanuts (the “New Three Treasures”) has become a new engine for increasing farmer incomes.
• Technological Integration: The adoption of “5G + smart agriculture” has enabled a shift from subsistence farming to technology-driven harvests, increasing grain yields and agricultural efficiency.

International Partnerships and Global Relevance (SDG 17)

Lankao’s success story serves as an inspirational model for international cooperation and knowledge sharing, embodying the spirit of SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The SCO summit visit facilitated a direct exchange of these development experiences. Ahmed Hassan Ahmed Mohamed Moustafa of Egypt’s Asia Center for Studies and Translation noted that Lankao’s achievements in poverty alleviation through environmental initiatives offer “invaluable lessons” for other developing nations.

Conclusion: An Integrated Approach to the SDGs

The revitalization of Lankao County is a powerful demonstration of an integrated and holistic approach to sustainable development. By strategically linking environmental restoration (SDG 13, SDG 15) with economic innovation (SDG 8, SDG 9), poverty alleviation (SDG 1), agricultural advancement (SDG 2), and a clean energy transition (SDG 7), Lankao has created a resilient and prosperous community. Its journey from “sand of suffering” to “light of hope” provides a replicable blueprint for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals globally.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed in the Article

The following SDGs are connected to the issues highlighted in the article:

• SDG 1: No Poverty
• SDG 2: Zero Hunger
• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
• SDG 13: Climate Action
• SDG 15: Life on Land
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Specific SDG Targets Identified

Based on the article’s content, the following specific targets can be identified:

1. SDG 1: No Poverty

   Target 1.2: By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions. The article repeatedly emphasizes Lankao’s transformation from an “impoverished region” and a “poverty-stricken village” to a place of “comprehensive revitalization” and prosperity. The mention of China’s “achievements in poverty alleviation” directly supports this target.

2. SDG 2: Zero Hunger

   Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality. The article describes how Lankao transformed “barren saline-alkali soil” into “ten thousand mu of fertile farmland” through the “construction of high-standard farmland.” It also highlights the use of “5G + smart agriculture” for “tech-driven harvests” and ensuring “grain yields climb steadily.”

3. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

   Target 6.6: By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes. The article mentions that Lankao was historically tormented by “waterlogging” from the Yellow River. The efforts described, such as the creation of “restored wetlands” and learning about the “ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River,” directly relate to the restoration and protection of water-related ecosystems.

4. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

   Target 7.2: By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. The article explicitly points to the adoption of clean energy sources, describing “vast fields of photovoltaic panels” and “modern wind turbines… generating clean energy that meets the local electricity demand and is transmitted to other regions.”

5. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   Target 8.2: Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation. The article details Lankao’s economic diversification from agriculture to industry. It highlights the development of a “national musical instrument industry” and a “modern home-furnishing industry,” which transformed “timber worth dozens of yuan” into industries with significant production value, creating economic pillars for the region.

6. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

   Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure… to support economic development and human well-being. The article mentions the development of industrial infrastructure like the “home-furnishing industrial park” and agricultural infrastructure such as “high-standard farmland.” It also points to technological innovation with the “exploration of ‘5G + smart agriculture’.”

7. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status. The story of Lankao is a case study in reducing regional inequality, transforming a “once impoverished region” into a prosperous one, thereby promoting the economic inclusion of its population and closing the development gap with other regions.

8. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

   Target 11.4: Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage. The article describes how Lankao developed “ecotourism resources” from its natural landscape, such as the “paulownia forest” and “restored wetlands.” It also highlights the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage through the “Guyang Music Town” and its traditional instrument industry.

9. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

   Target 12.2: By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources. The article showcases how Lankao sustainably utilized a natural resource—the paulownia tree. Initially planted for environmental control (“shield against wind and fix the sands”), the trees are now the “excellent materials” for two major industries (musical instruments and furniture), demonstrating an efficient and value-added use of a local natural resource.

10. SDG 13: Climate Action

    Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters. The central theme of the article is how Lankao battled and overcame “three natural disasters: sandstorms, saline-alkaline soil, and waterlogging.” The methods of “planting trees to stabilize moving sands” and other forms of “environmental governance” demonstrate building resilience to climate-related hazards.

11. SDG 15: Life on Land

    Target 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world. This is a core theme of the article. It details how Lankao combatted sandstorms and saline-alkaline soil through large-scale afforestation, creating an “ecological corridor, with a length of more than 1,500 kilometers, and the ecological forest land, covering an area of 200,000 mu.”

12. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

    Target 17.16: Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources. The article is framed around the “Shanghai Cooperation Organization Media and Think Tank Summit,” where representatives from various countries visited Lankao to learn from its development model. The Egyptian representative’s comment that “such experiences hold invaluable lessons for his own country” exemplifies the knowledge-sharing aspect of this target.

Indicators for Measuring Progress

The article mentions or implies several indicators that can be used to measure progress:

1. Economic Output and Industrial Growth

   The article provides specific quantitative data that serve as direct indicators of economic growth (relevant to SDG 8). These include: “Xuchang Village produces over 100,000 units of guzheng and guqin annually, generating 150 million yuan (CNY) in output value,” and the “modern home-furnishing industry with a production and operation income of more than 50 billion yuan(CNY).”

2. Land Restoration and Afforestation Coverage

   To measure progress on combating desertification and restoring land (relevant to SDG 15), the article provides clear metrics: the creation of an “ecological corridor, with a length of more than 1,500 kilometers” and “ecological forest land, covering an area of 200,000 mu.”

3. Adoption of Renewable Energy

   As an indicator for the share of clean energy (relevant to SDG 7), the article points to the physical presence and operation of “vast fields of photovoltaic panels” and “modern wind turbines,” which generate enough “clean energy that meets the local electricity demand and is transmitted to other regions.”

4. Agricultural Productivity

   A qualitative indicator for increased agricultural productivity (relevant to SDG 2) is the statement that “grain yields climb steadily” as a result of new farming techniques and infrastructure.

5. Diversification of the Economy and Trade

   An indicator for economic diversification and integration into global markets (relevant to SDG 8) is the fact that products from the musical instrument industry are “exported to more than 10 countries and regions, including Japan and the United States.”

6. Poverty Reduction

   A qualitative but powerful indicator for poverty reduction (relevant to SDG 1) is the narrative of transformation from a “poverty-stricken village in the past to a prosperous village nowadays,” as witnessed by the development of local industries and improved livelihoods.

Summary of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: newsfilecorp.com