Qinghai Hoh Xil

A significant threat is the transportation corridor that runs across the property, at the boundary between the two nature reserves. The transportation corridor includes a road (G109), a railway, and three high-voltage transmission lines parallel to both infrastructures.
The railway and the road severely affect the migration route of the Tibetan antelope from the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve to the calving grounds and back, as well as displacing wildlife in general and disturbing the ecological network of the plateau. The Qinghai-Tibet Road (G109) has been in existence for over half a century, with a railway running parallel for almost two decades. The Qinghai-Tibet Road experienced heavy usage, with an average daytime traffic flow of 1.24 vehicles per minute, peaking at 3.28 vehicles per minute between 13:00 and 14:00 (Xia Lin, 2005). However, this situation might have changed since operation began in 2006. To preserve landscape connectivity, the State Party designated three wildlife corridors with a total of 60 km (20 km long each) as part of the property, which includes railway under passages for wildlife. However, concerns have been raised as to their efficacy, with studies showing that only one of the underpasses (the Wubei underpass) is regularly used by the Tibetan antelope, and animals have to prolong and deviate from their optimal migration pathway to access the railway underpass (Xu et al., 2019). The management response, however, seems effective, as the population of antelopes was rising at the time of inscription, although no more recent data is published or publicly accessible for the use of the highway by wild animals and no monitoring of mortality due to the highway is in place to assess this impact.
In recent years, Hoh Xil Reserve has developed a remote CCTV monitoring system at selected sections of the highway to monitor wildlife movement and during migration season, the guards of the Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve patrol along selected sections of the highway.
The traffic on the highway is growing due to the major development occurring in the Tibet province. At the same time, the populations of antelopes and other animals are thought to be growing in the property due to better conservation measures. This could potentially create conflict in future if relevant management responses are not put in place.
During the process of inscription, IUCN sought information from the State Party about the status and plans for the road. It was confirmed that there is a committed plan for road upgrading at present. It would be essential that, should the road be upgraded (including the options to reduce its impact on migration, such as underpass or overpass corridors), such a project is subject to a thorough and careful assessment.

The IUCN mission noted that the invasive species Stellera chamaejasme, which is a poisonous plant that colonizes areas of degraded vegetation, is a threat to ungulates. As this species is also problematic for livestock, its control relies on preventing overgrazing and grassland degradation, and requires further monitoring and study to improve management responses (IUCN, 2017).

The settled population lives within two service areas (the Budongquan and the Wudaolian) along the Qinghai – Tibet Transportation corridor, mainly providing transportation-related services such as catering, accommodation, fuel, and maintenance. The Management Plan identified issues of large amounts of garbage, and construction waste produced by service areas annually. It set an objective to handle all solid wastes in a centralized manner outside of the property. The current situation is not known due to lack of information.

Most areas of the property have no human presence, except in the east and along the southern boundaries where Tibetan herders are present. In 2015, there were 35 herder families within the property and 222 herder families in the buffer zone. According to the most recent periodic report there are now only 5 households near Duoxiu Village who still graze livetok within the stie (State Party of China, 2023). Pasture degradation and snow disasters stimulate herders to sustain their livelihood for more pasture and more livestock. This cycle has given rise to a dilemma between animal husbandry and wildlife conservation. Human-wildlife conflicts are considered also a key issue (Management Plan, 2017). The government has introduced several policies to protect grasslands such as the establishment of various types of fences, the ecological resettlement of herders into towns and villages, and the eradication of pika spp. species (Emely Yeh, 2010). However the survival strategy of extensive livestock herding is its mobility based on traditional knowledge. The case study shows that pasture use decisions can be effective and successful only if herders are actively involved in decision-making and implementation processes (Ingo Breuer,et.al). The IUCN mission understood that grazing intensity has fallen substantially in the last years. However, it is important to note, as mentioned above, that a distinction should be made regarding the support for long-standing traditional grazing at intensities that can be supported by the natural ecosystem, in order to respect and protect legitimate traditional use and the rights associated with it (IUCN, 2017).

The IUCN evaluation mission noted concern regarding poisoning campaigns for the eradication of pika (Ochotona spp.), which is a current threat of medium severity to the biodiversity. There is mounting evidence that pikas are a keystone species that provide critical ecological services in the alpine meadow ecosystem. Thus, poisoning would potentially impact on the functioning of the ecosystem and the biodiversity of the property. No organised management response to pika is in place, although it is understood that the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve Administration has in the past refused to put in place eradication campaigns, and not accept financial subsidies, thus this issue has been primarily related to practice in Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve. In response to a concern raised by IUCN, the State Party notes that no poisoning is planned in the area and the buffer zone (IUCN, 2017).

The division of land and fencing directed by the government for husbandry purposes as well as anti-desertification and wetland protection purposes are notable current threats, as fencing disrupts the migration route of Tibetan antelope and causes the displacement of wildlife in the property and buffer zone. Some actions have been taken by the reserves and NGOs to remove the fences, but many are still in place. Reported illegal settlement to the south of the property is also resulting in fencing. It will be imperative that the State Party takes care to ensure that fencing that would threaten the migration routes for animals breeding in the property is not permitted or promoted at any point, and acts to manage any existing fencing (IUCN, 2017).

The recorded average temperature and average precipitation in the Hoh Xil reserve area rose significantly over the past decades. From 1961 to 2015, the annual average temperature change was 0.34℃ per decade, and the recorded average annual precipitation increased by c. 5 mm per decade. With this rapid change, glaciers, permafrost, rivers, lakes, wetlands and springs have responded accordingly, offering what is a dramatic example of terrestrial landscape change and a rare record of geomorphic processes. The primary productivity of the property appears to have increased, new rivers, lakes and marshlands have emerged (State Party of China, 2023). The change of landscape also resulted in changes to the movement patterns of ungulates and migratory birds, which are currently not fully understood. With climate warming and increased precipitation in the Tibetan Plateau (TP), most lakes in the Hoh Xil region have expanded significantly and some large lakes had expanded by hundreds of square kilometres since 2000. In September 2011, Lake Zonag (one of the most important calving sites, Zhuonai) burst after the water level had increased for many years. Floods flowed through Lake Kusai and Lake Hedin Noel into Lake Yanhu resulting in deep cutting riverbanks along migration routes, preventing animal access to their traditional calving ground (IUCN Consultation, 2020) and forcing calving in alternative sites downstream (Liu et al, 2016). The area of Lake Zonag has shrunk by 120 km2 and the margins of receded lake quickly evolved into the source of dust and heavy sandstorms which occurred frequently in the following winters. About 300 km2 of grassland have been completely covered by dust, threatening the survival of Tibetan antelopes and other wild animals in this region, although there was no quantitative measurement on its impact on animal mortality so far. To the east, Lake Yanhu received the floods from Lake Zonag and expanded from 48.1 km2 to 210.5 km2 over the course of several years. With the excessive water running into the Yanhu Lake, it is expected to spillover soon. With the very high salinity of Yanhu, a overspill will significantly affect forage quality for the antelope and other ungulates across a large area (Pei et al., 2019; IUCN Consultation, 2020). In 2019, engineers dug a channel to drain the lake to prevent the possible outburst, and calls for a proposed dam to prevent further desertification have been advocated (Xinhua, 2019). Practical management responses are difficult to put in place in relation to these trends, as the underlying knowledge and science base is still rapidly evolving. At the present time, it is essential to put in place a strengthened and coordinated programme of monitoring of the effects of climate change. It will be important for management authority to conduct vulnerable assessment for wildlife habitat and distribution, as well as potential shift of vegetation patterns. It is important to understand how wild animals react to the habitat shift and data collection on habitat for flagship species should cover more than calving areas. Considering the large scale of the property, there is possibility for wild animals to shift to new habitat if the traditional ones are impacted by climate. To secure the spaces for potential shift is important to be addressed in renewed management plan. Given increasing capacity in Qinghai for conservation and the government's high-level commitment for ecological civilization, there is a significant opportunity to provide information about change, and lessons regarding response, that would be of international interest (IUCN, 2017).

More frequently expedition enthusiasts are entering the Hoh Xil area for expeditions in the well-known no-man zone, which has damaged the landscape and disturbed wildlife. Some notable examples include: On November 1, 2016, the Forest Public Security Bureau of the Hoh Xil Management Office intercepted an illegal crossing team consisting of 10 off-road vehicles and 27 people who entered the area from Huatugou Town, Mangya City, Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. According to relevant regulations, the authorities fined each member of the group 5,000 yuan. In 2017, Qinghai's Hoh Xil, Xinjiang's Altun Mountain, and Tibet's Qiangtang National Nature Reserve jointly issued announcements prohibiting all units or individuals from entering the reserve at will to carry out illegal crossing activities (Jinjin, 2018). On March 1, 2021, CCTV reported that a team of 10 people and six vehicles was caught illegally crossing the Hoh Xil area in Qinghai Province, and each person was fined 3,000 yuan (CCTV, 2021). Xinhua News Agency reported on April 8, 2024, that the Hoh Xil Forest Police Bureau intercepted an off-road team consisting of 8 off-road vehicles and 10 people who attempted to enter the property from the border region between Xinjiang and Qinghai on March 31, 2024 (Xinhua News Agency, 2024).