Abstract
Wind energy expansion is intensifying conflicts with biodiversity conservation in ecologically sensitive regions. Existing siting studies mainly assess individual wind projects, with limited attention to regional planning, and often emphasize construction and operational conditions but rarely incorporate wind-resource carrying capacity and broader ecological constraints. Reliance on official protected-area boundaries may overlook avian habitats and potential migration corridors. This study develops a regional ecological suitability zoning framework for wind-energy planning on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP). Its innovation is to extend project siting to regional-scale zoning and incorporate identified priority avian conservation areas and potential migration corridors as explicit exclusion indicators. Using GIS-based multicriteria decision analysis, the framework includes eight exclusion indicators and nineteen graded indicators covering wind-resource endowment, construction and operational suitability, socioeconomic feasibility, importance of ecosystem functions, and eco-environmental sensitivity. Habitat suitability for 66 protected bird species was modelled using MaxEnt, priority conservation areas were identified using Marxan, and potential migration corridors were delineated using a least-cost approach. The analysis identified three high-suitability habitat clusters, 21 priority conservation areas, and 40 potential migration corridors. The QTP was classified into six suitability zones; policy-prohibited zones covered more than half of the region, whereas priority and suitable zones together accounted for only 11.3 %. Three existing wind farms in Qinghai overlapped policy-prohibited zones associated with avian conservation, revealing potential development–conservation conflicts. The framework provides spatial decision support for regional wind-energy planning and helps reconcile wind-energy development with avian biodiversity conservation.