Enhancing protected areas for biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Incorporating ecosystem services (ES) conservation into the goals of protected areas (PA) is being acknowledged. Identifying conservation gaps in existing PAs and delineating priority regions for conserving biodiversity and ES in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) are critical for sustainable development. In this study, we identified conservation gaps for biodiversity and ES in existing nature reserves (NRs), the primary category of PA in the QTP. Using the representativeness–vulnerability framework, we then identified the priority regions for conservation of biodiversity and ES. The results show that the QTP’s existing NRs have notable conservation gaps for biodiversity, water and soil retention, sandstorm prevention, and carbon sequestration services. For biodiversity, water and soil retention, and carbon sequestration, the priority regions are mainly located in southeastern Tibet, while those for sandstorm prevention are mainly distributed in the regions surrounding Qinghai Lake and south of the Changtang Plateau. The priority regions for both biodiversity and ES are mainly distributed in the southeastern QTP. Only ~15% of the priority regions are covered by existing NRs. A new type of PA for conserving ES is recommended. Human activities would be permitted in this new PA type so long as they do not compromise the provision of critical ES.