Pollination Deficit (Chaplin-Kramer)
This layer maps the gap in crop production caused by insufficient pollination — the share of potential yield lost because wild pollinators are too scarce.
Category: Physical risks · Enabling services Coverage: Global Format: Raster grid (~1 km) Used in risk analysis: Yes — gates Enabling services
What it shows
This layer maps the gap in crop production caused by insufficient pollination — the share of potential yield lost because wild pollinators are too scarce. Many crops depend on insect pollination, so a large deficit signals where farming is constrained by the loss of pollinator habitat. It is a direct measure of an enabling natural service on which agricultural output depends.
How it is built
The layer is based on the global modelling of nature's contributions to people by Chaplin-Kramer and colleagues (2019), produced through the IPBES assessment and the Natural Capital Project. The measured variable is crop yield loss attributable to a shortfall in wild pollination — conceptually, the difference between the production that pollinators could support and the production actually achievable given available pollinator habitat. The output reflects current conditions (around 2015) on a roughly 1 km global grid, refined from a coarser native resolution.
How to read it
Higher values indicate a larger pollination deficit — places where crop production is more limited by insufficient wild pollinator habitat. Lower values indicate areas where pollination is adequately supplied or where crops do not depend heavily on it.
Source
Chaplin-Kramer et al. (2019), Science — Global Modelling of Nature's Contributions to People; IPBES / Natural Capital Project.
Comparison with the WWF Risk Filter Suite
This layer corresponds to BRF S2_5 Pollination and is aligned in concept. The difference is one of vintage: Darwin currently uses the 2019 Chaplin-Kramer release, whereas the WWF Risk Filter Suite v3.0 draws on the 2023 Critical Natural Assets update. A refresh to the newer release is pending on the Darwin side.
Risk analysis
A site is flagged on a dimension by combining a proximity trigger (this layer) with an activity trigger (the entity's ENCORE pressure/service). Proximity only → Potentially material; proximity and the matching ENCORE pressure/service is material → Very material; neither → Not material.
| Dimension | ENCORE service / pressure | Proximity trigger (this layer) | Activity trigger (entity) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enabling services | Pollination | Site overlaps / is near the feature | “Pollination” pressure ≥ 4 |
Legend
Symbolised field: Pollination deficit
Generated from darwin/layers/layer-pollination-deficit-chaplin-kramer.toml and risk_indicator_pairs.toml (develop).