Risk of pesticides pollution (Tang et al. 2023)
This layer estimates the geography of environmental pollution risk from agricultural pesticides.
Category: Physical risks · Enabling services · Water condition Coverage: Global Format: Raster grid Used in risk analysis: Yes — gates Enabling services
What it shows
This layer estimates the geography of environmental pollution risk from agricultural pesticides. Pesticides protect food production but are also pervasive pollutants that affect water quality, biodiversity and human health. The layer maps where pesticide residues in the environment are likely to exceed safe concentrations, helping to identify catchments where agricultural activity poses a heightened risk to freshwater systems and surrounding nature.
How it is built
The risk surface is derived from a global database of pesticide applications combined with a spatially explicit environmental model, covering 92 active ingredients across 168 countries. A location is treated as at risk where modelled residues exceed the concentration at which no effect is expected, and at high risk where they exceed that threshold by roughly a thousandfold. The published analysis finds that around 64% of global agricultural land is at risk from more than one active ingredient and about 31% is at high risk, with high-concern catchments identified in South Africa, China, India, Australia and Argentina. The result is a global grid of pollution-risk values.
How to read it
Higher values indicate greater estimated pesticide-pollution risk, meaning residues are more likely to exceed safe environmental concentrations and to affect water quality and biodiversity. Lower values indicate limited expected pesticide pollution. The layer is most meaningful over agricultural land, where pesticide application is concentrated.
Source
Tang et al., global assessment of environmental pesticide-pollution risk across 92 active ingredients and 168 countries, published in Nature Geoscience.
Comparison with the WWF Risk Filter Suite
This layer contributes to WWF Biodiversity Risk Filter indicator S2_2 Water Quality. WWF's water-quality indicator is a basin composite combining around nine freshwater datasets plus a marine signal, covering metrics such as biochemical oxygen demand, pathogens, nitrate, salinity and algal blooms. Darwin contributes a dedicated gridded pesticide-pollution signal to that theme; it is narrower in scope than WWF's full composite but more specific on pesticide pollution.
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 | Water purification | Layer value above 3 | “Water purification” pressure ≥ 4 |
Legend
Symbolised field: Risk of pesticide pollution
| Class | Colour |
|---|---|
| No risk | #e0f3db |
| High risk | #fdae61 |
Generated from darwin/layers/layer-risk-of-pesticides-pollution-tang-at-al-2023.toml and risk_indicator_pairs.toml (develop).