The Tibetan Plateau is a hotspot for biodiversity, roughly one-third of which is protected. Yet wildlife conservation efforts there are being disrupted by fences used to manage animal ranges, and by the expansion of roads and railways.

These projects threaten nature conservation and ecosystem health in the region. Affected animals include wild migratory herbivores such as the Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii) and Przewalski's gazelle (Procapra przewalskii), both of which are endangered and need large areas of land for grazing and to promote gene flow between populations.

The plateau already has 51,300 kilometres of roads. More are planned, along with extensive railways to connect international borders (see go.nature.com/whuz3z).

The fences are used to define farm boundaries and to aid rotational farming to reduce grassland degradation (see, for example, Z. Q. You et al. Chinese Sci. Bull. 58, 2262–2268; 2013). Conservation authorities lack the power to override this government policy, which is backed by subsidies that reimburse local households for fence construction.

Policymakers must collaborate to avert the mounting threat to species and their trophic networks in these unique and important alpine ecosystems.