Biodiversity Risk Filter
Description
This dataset contains biodiversity risk indicators for terrestrial, freshwater, and marine areas, with global coverage at sub-basin, marine ecoregion, or open ocean fishing area scale (polygons). Fifty-five indicators are aggregated into fifteen risk categories and three risk types: physical risk, regulatory deficiency risk, and reputational risk.
Assessment units follow HydroBASINS Level 7 for terrestrial and freshwater areas, Marine Ecoregions of the World for coastal marine areas, and sub-areas of the FAO Major Fishing Areas for open ocean areas, with terrestrial units that cross national borders sub-divided along national boundaries. World Bank boundaries are used for island nations not covered by HydroBASINS, and HydroLAKES is used for the Caspian Sea.
Physical risk categories cover provisioning services, regulating services (enabling), regulating services (mitigating), and cultural services. Regulatory deficiency risk categories cover application, scoping, rights, access and entitlements, institutions and governance, management instruments, subnational biodiversity law, offences and penalties, and implementation risk. Reputational risk categories cover pressures on biodiversity, environmental factors, and socio-economic factors.
Physical and reputational risk values are the 75th percentile of constituent risk category values, with contributing indicators varying by site activity. Values are provided for 26 site activities, one of which represents a state of nature with no activity. Regulatory deficiency risk is industry-agnostic and does not vary by activity.
2662e5cd…Usage notes
Risk variables follow a three-level naming convention. Risk types are sph (physical risk), srg (regulatory deficiency risk), and srp (reputational risk). Risk categories follow the convention src_{category}, where category is a number from 1 to 15. Individual indicators follow the convention s_{category}_{indicator}, where category matches the risk category number and indicator is a sequential number within that category. Indicator numbering is not contiguous, since three indicators are not delivered in this dataset.
Risk values range from 1 (very low risk) to 5 (very high risk). Risk types, physical risk categories, reputational risk categories, and constituent indicators are continuous. Regulatory deficiency risk categories and constituent indicators are integer risk classes. A value of -666 indicates that an indicator is not relevant to an assessment unit, and a value of -333 indicates that an indicator is not relevant to a site activity. Calculations exclude no-data and not-relevant values.
Some indicators are published at country level and are held constant within a country. The dataset is a single composite assessment rather than a time series. Source data is published between 2017 and 2025, and individual indicators draw on time windows of differing and sometimes longer duration. Where data is missing for an assessment unit, values are estimated from a sovereign, parent, or neighbouring unit, assigned a default risk class, or derived from source data more than five years old. The dataset is suitable for screening and prioritising biodiversity risk across operations and value chains, and is not suitable for site-level assessment.
AOI constraints
Vertices≤ 10,000GeometryPolygon, MultiPolygon, Point, MultiPointVariables
id_0
Description
Sequential identifier of the parent unit.
id_1
Description
Unique sequential identifier of the assessment unit.
rfs_id
Description
Risk Filter Suite unique identifier.
Usage notes
Assessment units within the same parent unit are distinguished with a letter suffix.
parent_id
Description
Original identifier of the parent unit.
Usage notes
One parent unit can contain multiple assessment units. For HydroBASINS Level 7 units, value is taken from the HydroBASINS database. For all other units, value is a unique 10-length numeric string.
location_id
Description
Three character code of the predominant country or territory.
Usage notes
Terrestrial assessment units only. Most locations use ISO-3166 codes. Non-standard codes are used for locations separated by WWF to represent distinct biogeographic regions. Disputed areas as defined by the World Bank use codes with the structure X00. See table for codes. Null for marine assessment units.
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| AZO | Azores |
| CLI | Clipperton Island |
| CNR | Canary Islands |
| HWI | Hawaii |
| MDR | Madeira |
| PEW | Prince Edward Islands |
| X01 | Aksai Chin |
| X02 | Chumar East |
| X03 | Chumar West |
| X04 | Demchok |
| X05 | Jadh Ganga Valley |
| X06 | Kaurik |
| X07 | Lapthal |
| X08 | Shipki Pass |
| X09 | Arunachal Pradesh |
| X10 | Gilgit Baltistan |
| X11 | Jammu and Kashmir |
| X12 | Kalapani |
| X13 | Karakoram Range |
| X14 | Golan Heights |
| X15 | Ilemi Triangle |
| X16 | No Man's Land |
| X17 | Shebaa Farms Dispute |
| X18 | UN Buffer Zone |
| X19 | Abyei |
| X20 | Doklam |
sovereign
Description
Three character ISO-3166 code of the sovereign nation.
Usage notes
Terrestrial assessment units only. Only differs from location ID variable for overseas territories or outlying islands. Null where no sovereign nation is assigned, including disputed areas.
name
Description
Assessment unit name. Corresponds to sub-basin name in the FAO Hydrological Basins of the World database for terrestrial units, ecoregion name in the Marine Ecoregions of the World database for coastal marine units, and sub-area name in the FAO Major Fishing Areas database for open ocean units.
Usage notes
Null for a small number of assessment units.
major_name
Description
Major unit name. Corresponds to major basin name in the FAO Hydrological Basins of the World database for terrestrial units, province name in the Marine Ecoregions of the World database for coastal marine units, and major area name in the FAO Major Fishing Areas database for open ocean units.
Usage notes
A single major unit contains multiple assessment units. Null for a small number of assessment units.
region
Description
Broad geographic region. Terrestrial and freshwater regions are adapted from World Bank regions. Coastal marine units are taken from the Marine Ecoregions of the World database. Open ocean units are taken from the FAO Major Fishing Areas database.
source
Description
Assessment unit source dataset.
Usage notes
Values are HydroBASIN7 for units derived from HydroBASINS Level 7, MEOW for coastal marine ecoregions from Marine Ecoregions of the World, FAO for open ocean sub-areas from the FAO Major Fishing Areas, HydroLAKES for the Caspian Sea, and World Bank for island nation units.
source_id
Description
Identifier within the source dataset. Identical to parent ID variable for HydroBASINS units.
area
Description
Area of the assessment unit.
area_hybas
Description
Area of the parent HydroBASINS Level 7 unit.
Usage notes
Null for units not derived from HydroBASINS.
area_location
Description
Area of the country or territory corresponding to location ID variable.
Usage notes
Null where no location is assigned.
marine
Description
Indicates whether an assessment unit falls in the marine realm.
activity_code
Description
Four character code for the site activity applied when determining which indicators are relevant to physical and reputational risk values.
Usage notes
Each assessment unit appears once per activity. Regulatory deficiency risk values are identical across activities for the same assessment unit.
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| AGAN | Agriculture (animal products) |
| AGAQ | Fishing and aquaculture |
| AGPL | Agriculture (plant products) |
| CMFR | Paper and forest product production |
| CMML | Metals and mining |
| CMOG | Oil, gas and consumable fuels |
| CTDV | Land development and construction |
| CTMT | Construction materials |
| ELCO | Electric energy production - geothermal or combustion (biomass, coal, gas, nuclear, oil) |
| ELHY | Electric energy production - hydropower |
| ELRE | Electric energy production - solar, wind |
| HCGE | Health care, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology |
| MAAU | Automotive, electrical equipment and machinery production |
| MAEL | Electronics and semiconductor manufacturing |
| MAGE | Appliances and general goods manufacturing |
| OTXX | State of nature (no activity) |
| PRCH | Chemicals and other materials production |
| PRFO | Food and beverage production |
| PRTX | Textiles, apparel and luxury goods production |
| REDC | Data centres |
| REHO | Hospitality services |
| REOF | Offices and professional services (including consulting, software, real estate, and financial institutions) |
| RTGE | Food, general and speciality retailing |
| UTTC | Telecommunication services (including wireless) |
| UTTR | Transportation services |
| UTWR | Water utilities and water service providers |
only_terrestrial
Description
Indicates whether a site activity can occur only in terrestrial areas.
Usage notes
Risk values are populated for marine assessment units regardless of this variable, so it should be used to identify combinations of assessment unit and site activity that are not meaningful.
sph
Description
Physical risk. 75th percentile of four physical risk category variables. Represents potential adverse consequences to a company from its dependence on nature and ecosystem services.
src_1
Description
Provisioning services. Physical risk category representing risk to the supply of material outputs from nature. 75th percentile of four constituent indicator variables.
s_1_1
Description
Water availability. Risk from physical freshwater scarcity, based on water depletion, baseline water stress, freshwater quantity target, and groundwater level change. Integrated from the Water Risk Filter dataset without modification.
s_1_2
Description
Forest productivity and distance to markets. Relative realised timber services index for commercial timber, estimating potential timber mass from above-ground carbon stock and fractional tree cover, constrained to accessible areas. Taken from Costing Nature v3.
Usage notes
Accessible areas are within 6 hours travel of a population centre of more than 50,000 people and on slopes of less than 31.5°. Softwood and hardwood are split on mean annual temperature and cold index.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | timber services index > 0.18-1 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 0.066-0.18 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 0.0053-0.066 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-0.0053 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (no accessible timber) |
s_1_3
Description
Marine fish availability. Modelled change in total consumer biomass density for pelagic and demersal species, between 1950-1954 and 2010-2014. Taken from the FishMIP EcoOcean model under the ISIMIP3b protocol.
Usage notes
Where model outputs disagree, the highest value is taken. Moderate risk is the lowest class assigned globally, reflecting the depleted state of marine fish stocks.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Moderate Risk | ≤ 10% decline in biomass density |
| 4 | High Risk | > 10-50% decline |
| 5 | Very High Risk | > 50% decline |
s_1_4
Description
Wild flora and fauna. Risk to the availability of wild-harvested plant and animal products.
Usage notes
Column is retained without data following withdrawal of source data on quality grounds, and does not indicate that the topic is immaterial. CITES trade data and the FairWild Standard can be used for localised assessment.
src_2
Description
Regulating services (enabling). Physical risk category representing risk to natural processes that maintain the conditions for production. 75th percentile of five constituent indicator variables.
s_2_1
Description
Soil condition. Soil organic carbon stock. Taken from SoilGrids v2.0, based on soil profile observations from the WoSIS database and machine learning.
Usage notes
Zonal statistics are uncertainty-weighted, with lower-uncertainty pixels given higher weight.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | soil organic carbon stock > 90 t/ha |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 t/ha |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 50-70 t/ha |
| 4 | High Risk | > 30-50 t/ha |
| 5 | Very High Risk | ≤ 30 t/ha |
s_2_2
Description
Water quality. Risk from pollution of freshwater and marine environments. Terrestrial and freshwater values are integrated from the Water Risk Filter dataset without modification. Marine values are estimated separately from marine nutrient pollution, ocean acidification, and hypoxia.
s_2_3
Description
Air quality. Concentrations of particulate matter under 2.5 micrometres, particulate matter under 10 micrometres, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide. Taken from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service reanalysis.
Usage notes
Final risk class is the 75th percentile of the five pollutant risk classes.
| Index | Label | CO (kg/m³) | PM10 (kg/m³) | NO₂ (kg/m³) | PM2.5 (kg/m³) | SO₂ (kg/m³) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | ≤ 0.860 × 10⁻³ | ≤ 1.59 × 10⁻⁸ | ≤ 1.39 × 10⁻⁶ | ≤ 1.11 × 10⁻⁸ | ≤ 0.815 × 10⁻⁶ |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 0.860 to 0.909 × 10⁻³ | > 1.59 to 3.88 × 10⁻⁸ | > 1.39 to 2.07 × 10⁻⁶ | > 1.11 to 2.73 × 10⁻⁸ | > 0.815 to 1.77 × 10⁻⁶ |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 0.909 to 1.09 × 10⁻³ | > 3.88 to 9.42 × 10⁻⁸ | > 2.07 to 3.30 × 10⁻⁶ | > 2.73 to 6.07 × 10⁻⁸ | > 1.77 to 4.35 × 10⁻⁶ |
| 4 | High Risk | > 1.09 to 1.24 × 10⁻³ | > 9.42 to 12.3 × 10⁻⁸ | > 3.30 to 4.37 × 10⁻⁶ | > 6.07 to 7.83 × 10⁻⁸ | > 4.35 to 7.45 × 10⁻⁶ |
| 5 | Very High Risk | > 1.24 × 10⁻³ | > 12.3 × 10⁻⁸ | > 4.37 × 10⁻⁶ | > 7.83 × 10⁻⁸ | > 7.45 × 10⁻⁶ |
s_2_4
Description
Ecosystem condition (degraded). Degradation of ecosystem integrity, landscape connectivity, river connectivity, and marine habitat condition. Taken from the Ecosystem Integrity Index, functional connectivity of protected areas, the global free-flowing rivers dataset, and Ocean Health Index habitat condition.
Usage notes
Terrestrial and freshwater values are the mean of a terrestrial sub-value, itself the mean of ecosystem integrity and functional connectivity, and a freshwater sub-value based on river fragmentation. Marine values use marine habitat condition alone. Low ecosystem integrity, low connectivity, and high river fragmentation all correspond to high risk.
s_2_5
Description
Pollination. Potential contribution of wild pollinators to nutrition production, expressed as the equivalent number of people fed by pollination-dependent crops. Taken from the Nature's Contributions to People crop pollination model.
Usage notes
Higher values correspond to higher risk, reflecting greater dependence on pollination services supplied by a limited area of habitat.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | ≤ 0.0004 equivalent people fed |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 0.0004-0.008 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 0.008-1.5 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 1.5-2.7 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | > 2.7 |
src_3
Description
Regulating services (mitigating). Physical risk category representing risk from natural hazards and other pressures moderated by ecosystems. 75th percentile of seven constituent indicator variables.
s_3_1
Description
Landslides. Landslide susceptibility class. Taken from the NASA Landslide Sensitivity Map.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Slight |
| 2 | Low Risk | Low |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | Moderate |
| 4 | High Risk | High |
| 5 | Very High Risk | Severe |
s_3_2
Description
Wildfires. Count of fire and thermal anomaly detections, normalised by area. Taken from the MODIS Aqua and Terra fire and thermal anomaly dataset, covering 2021-2025.
Usage notes
Excludes active volcanoes, offshore fires, and static land heat sources, so counts represent presumed vegetation fires. Past fire occurrence is used as a proxy for future exposure.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | 0 fires per 1,000 km² per year |
| 2 | Low Risk | 1-3 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | 4-20 |
| 4 | High Risk | 21-85 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | > 85 |
s_3_3
Description
Diseases. Predicted zoonotic spillover risk, based on a global database of emerging infectious disease events adjusted for reporting effort and population demographics. Taken from Allen et al. (2017).
Usage notes
Covers zoonotic diseases affecting humans.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | ≤ 7.33 × 10⁻⁶ spillover risk index |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 7.33 × 10⁻⁶ to 4.54 × 10⁻⁵ |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 4.54 × 10⁻⁵ to 1.40 × 10⁻⁴ |
| 4 | High Risk | > 1.40 × 10⁻⁴ to 2.37 × 10⁻⁴ |
| 5 | Very High Risk | > 2.37 × 10⁻⁴ |
s_3_4
Description
Herbicide resistance. Count of herbicide resistant weed occurrences. Taken from the International Survey of Herbicide Resistant Weeds.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | 0 occurrences |
| 2 | Low Risk | 1-15 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | 16-28 |
| 4 | High Risk | 29-45 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | > 45 |
s_3_5
Description
Extreme heat. Daily maximum wet bulb globe temperature with a 5-year return period. Taken from the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery extreme heat hazard dataset.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | < 24 °C |
| 2 | Low Risk | 24-28 °C |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | 28-30 °C |
| 4 | High Risk | 30-32 °C |
| 5 | Very High Risk | > 32 °C |
s_3_6
Description
Tropical cyclones. Cyclone wind speed with a 100-year return period. Taken from the MSCI tropical cyclone catalogue.
Usage notes
Wind speeds are modelled to landfall and are not projected inland, so inland areas are unquantified rather than low risk.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | ≤ 24.31 m/s |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 24.31-32.52 m/s |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 32.52-41.25 m/s |
| 4 | High Risk | > 41.25-49.92 m/s |
| 5 | Very High Risk | > 49.92 m/s |
s_3_7
Description
Flooding. Risk from flood occurrence and modelled flood hazard. Integrated from the Water Risk Filter dataset without modification.
src_4
Description
Cultural services. Physical risk category. Direct copy of natural and cultural resources indicator variable.
s_4_1
Description
Natural and cultural resources. Recreational and cultural ecosystem service value. Taken from an ensemble of five recreation ecosystem service models for terrestrial units, and the Ocean Health Index tourism and recreation and sense of place indices for marine units.
| Index | Label | Marine threshold | Terrestrial threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | > 82.41-91.94 combined index | ≤ 0.0029 recreation index |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70.28-82.41 | > 0.0029-0.038 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 57.89-70.28 | > 0.038-0.14 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 45.42-57.89 | > 0.14-0.45 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 25.4-45.42 | > 0.45 |
srg
Description
Regulatory deficiency risk. Adjusted regulatory deficiency risk value derived from Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessments, incorporating implementation risk category variable as a non-linear adjusting factor. Represents gaps in the biodiversity regulatory framework of the jurisdiction in which an assessment unit is located.
src_5
Description
Application. Regulatory deficiency risk category. Aggregate of two constituent indicator variables, following Legal Atlas aggregation rules.
s_5_1
Description
Status of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans. Existence, alignment with the Convention on Biological Diversity, and comprehensiveness of national biodiversity strategies and action plans, including coverage of Global Biodiversity Framework targets. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_5_2
Description
Biodiversity conservation policy statement in law. Whether the objectives of the law reflect biodiversity conservation principles aligned with Global Biodiversity Framework targets. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
src_6
Description
Scoping. Regulatory deficiency risk category assessing the comprehensiveness of key biodiversity-related legal definitions. Aggregate of seven constituent indicator variables, following Legal Atlas aggregation rules.
s_6_1
Description
Definition of biodiversity. Presence and comprehensiveness of a legal definition of biodiversity, covering plants, animals, fungi, micro-organisms, genetic diversity, and ecosystems. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_6_2
Description
Definition of wild fauna. Presence of a legal definition of wildlife or wild animals, referencing mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects, and aquatic invertebrates. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_6_3
Description
Definition of wild flora. Presence of a legal definition of wild flora. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_6_4
Description
Definition of protected areas. Presence of a legal definition of protected areas aligned with Convention on Biological Diversity principles. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_6_5
Description
Definition of ecological corridors and networks. Presence of legal definitions of ecological corridors or ecological networks. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_6_6
Description
Definition of invasive alien species. Presence of a legal definition of invasive alien species. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_6_7
Description
Definition of a threatened species. Presence of a legal definition of threatened species, referencing IUCN Red List categories. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
src_7
Description
Rights, access and entitlements. Regulatory deficiency risk category. Direct copy of state's duty to protect and conserve biodiversity indicator variable.
s_7_1
Description
State's duty to protect and conserve biodiversity. Constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment and legal duty of the state to protect biodiversity. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
src_8
Description
Institutions and governance. Regulatory deficiency risk category. Aggregate of three constituent indicator variables, following Legal Atlas aggregation rules.
s_8_1
Description
Biodiversity management authority. Existence of an authority responsible for environmental management with biodiversity within its remit. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_8_2
Description
Coordination among national government authorities. Legal mechanisms coordinating national government authorities on biodiversity management across sectors. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_8_3
Description
Public participation. Requirements for public participation, including by vulnerable groups, in biodiversity management and environmental impact assessment processes. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
src_9
Description
Management instruments. Regulatory deficiency risk category covering monitoring, data sharing, impact assessment, offsetting, and protected area and species management. Aggregate of six constituent indicator variables, following Legal Atlas aggregation rules.
s_9_1
Description
Monitoring of biodiversity. Legal mandate to monitor biodiversity across wetlands, protected areas, threatened species, invasive species, forests, marine and freshwater activity, pollution, and wildlife trade. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_9_2
Description
Data compilation and sharing (national level). Legal mandate to compile and publicly share biodiversity data nationally across agencies. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_9_3
Description
Environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental assessments. Existence of dedicated environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment law with trigger criteria, monitoring, post-project assessment, and multi-sector implementation. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_9_4
Description
Offset requirements. Legal requirement for biodiversity no net loss or net gain, and inclusion of the mitigation hierarchy in environmental impact assessment legislation. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_9_5
Description
Protected areas (legal management). Legal requirement for identification and mapping of protected areas, and stringency of degazetting requirements. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_9_6
Description
Protected species management. Legal list of protected species with listing and delisting procedures, and prohibitions on impacts to species and their critical habitats. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
src_10
Description
Subnational biodiversity law. Regulatory deficiency risk category. Aggregate of two constituent indicator variables, following Legal Atlas aggregation rules.
s_10_1
Description
Requirement to meet national standards. Whether subnational biodiversity law is required to meet national standards, and the scope of independent regulatory power held by subnational authorities. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_10_2
Description
Coordination among local and national authorities. Legal mechanisms coordinating local authorities with each other and with national bodies on biodiversity management. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
src_11
Description
Offences and penalties. Regulatory deficiency risk category. Aggregate of four constituent indicator variables, following Legal Atlas aggregation rules.
s_11_1
Description
Pollution crimes. Penalties, including monetary fines and criminal sanctions, for pollution, applicable to legal entities. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_11_2
Description
Habitat destruction. Penalties for illegal habitat destruction, applicable to legal entities. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_11_3
Description
Violation of invasive species prohibitions. Penalties for introduction of or illegal activities involving invasive species. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
s_11_4
Description
Violation of environmental impact assessment requirements. Penalties for failure to carry out or for incorrectly implementing environmental impact assessment processes. Taken from the Legal Atlas regulatory deficiency risk assessment.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Legal Atlas value > 90 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 70-90 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 40-70 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 0-40 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | 0 (regulation completely absent) |
src_12
Description
Implementation risk. Regulatory deficiency risk category derived from World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators. Aggregate of two constituent indicator variables.
Usage notes
Applied as a non-linear adjusting factor to regulatory deficiency risk rather than averaged with other categories.
s_12_1
Description
Effective policy formulation. Combined World Bank Government Effectiveness and Regulatory Quality indices, capturing the quality of public services, policy formulation, and the ability to design and implement business-enabling policies.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | World Bank governance value ≥ 1.5 |
| 2 | Low Risk | ≥ 0.5 to < 1.5 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | ≥ -0.5 to < 0.5 |
| 4 | High Risk | ≥ -1.5 to < -0.5 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | < -1.5 |
s_12_2
Description
Respect for institutions. Combined World Bank Rule of Law and Control of Corruption indices, capturing contract enforcement, property rights, and the extent to which public power is used for private gain.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | World Bank governance value ≥ 1.5 |
| 2 | Low Risk | ≥ 0.5 to < 1.5 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | ≥ -0.5 to < 0.5 |
| 4 | High Risk | ≥ -1.5 to < -0.5 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | < -1.5 |
srp
Description
Reputational risk. 75th percentile of three reputational risk category variables. Represents potential adverse consequences from negative stakeholder perception of a company's impacts on nature.
src_13
Description
Pressures on biodiversity. Reputational risk category. 75th percentile of four constituent indicator variables.
s_13_1
Description
Land, freshwater and sea use change. Conversion and fragmentation of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. Taken from global cropland extent gain, the global free-flowing rivers dataset, cumulative human impact on the ocean, and Ocean Health Index habitat trends.
Usage notes
Terrestrial and freshwater values are the mean of cropland expansion and river fragmentation. Marine values are the mean of cumulative human impact on the ocean and marine habitat trends.
s_13_2
Description
Forest canopy loss. Tree cover loss, used as a proxy for ecosystem conversion. Taken from the Hansen Global Forest Change dataset, covering 2000-2024.
Usage notes
Trees are defined as vegetation taller than 5 m, and loss as stand-replacement disturbance. Uses the same source data and thresholds as the equivalent indicator in the Water Risk Filter dataset.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | < 1% tree cover loss |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 1-2% |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 2-5% |
| 4 | High Risk | > 5-20% |
| 5 | Very High Risk | > 20% |
s_13_3
Description
Invasive species. Count of unique invasive species recorded within a national, sub-national, or marine area. Taken from the CABI Invasive Species Compendium.
Usage notes
Excludes exterminated and naturalised species. Thresholds differ from the equivalent indicator in the Water Risk Filter dataset, which counts only species affecting freshwater environments.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | ≤ 206 species |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 206-420 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 420-590 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 590-953 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | > 953 |
s_13_4
Description
Pollution. Risk from nutrient, pesticide, chemical, plastic, and air pollution. Taken from national fertiliser and pesticide use statistics, modelled nutrient concentrations, Ocean Health Index pollution indices, plastic waste and emissions datasets, and EDGAR air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions.
Usage notes
Terrestrial and freshwater values combine nutrient and pesticide pollution, plastic pollution, and air pollution. Marine values are the mean of nutrient, chemical, and plastic pollution.
src_14
Description
Environmental factors. Reputational risk category. 75th percentile of three constituent indicator variables.
Usage notes
Indicators derived from the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) are excluded, so indicator numbers are not sequential. See Cecil IBAT dataset listings to access IBAT data.
s_14_3
Description
Wetlands of international importance. Assessment unit overlap with a wetland site from the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. Integrated from the Water Risk Filter dataset without modification.
Usage notes
Risk is binary, where any overlap is treated as very high risk and no overlap as very low risk.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | 0% overlap |
| 5 | Very High Risk | > 0% overlap |
s_14_4
Description
Other important delineated areas. Overlap with Intact Forest Landscapes, WWF Global 200 priority ecoregions, and Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems.
| Index | Label | Marine threshold | Terrestrial threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | No overlap with Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems or marine Global 200 | No overlap with Intact Forest Landscapes or Global 200 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | Overlap with marine Global 200 | Overlap with terrestrial or freshwater Global 200 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | Overlap with Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems | Overlap with Intact Forest Landscapes |
s_14_5
Description
Ecosystem condition (intact). Intactness of ecosystem integrity, landscape connectivity, river connectivity, and marine habitat condition.
Usage notes
Same sub-metrics and thresholds as ecosystem condition (degraded) indicator variable, applied inversely, so that intact ecosystems correspond to high risk. Inversion reflects greater scrutiny of companies operating in intact ecosystems.
src_15
Description
Socio-economic factors. Reputational risk category. 75th percentile of four constituent indicator variables.
s_15_1
Description
Indigenous peoples, local communities lands and territories. Risk associated with company presence on lands and territories of indigenous peoples and local communities.
Usage notes
Column is retained without data following withdrawal of source data on quality grounds, and does not indicate that the topic is immaterial. ILO Convention 169, IFC Performance Standard 7, and TNFD guidance on engagement with indigenous peoples can be used for localised assessment.
s_15_2
Description
Resource scarcity. Higher of water availability indicator variable and air quality indicator variable, treated as a standalone indicator within reputational risk.
s_15_3
Description
Labour and human rights. V-Dem Civil Liberties Index, estimating the extent to which people are free from torture, political killings, and forced labour, and enjoy freedoms of movement, religion, expression, and association.
Usage notes
Final value is an inverse standard-error-weighted mean across the three most recent data years per country. Overseas territories without data use the value of their sovereign nation. Uses the same source data and thresholds as the equivalent indicator in the Water Risk Filter dataset.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | V-Dem Civil Liberties Index ≥ 0.9 |
| 2 | Low Risk | 0.83-0.9 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | 0.66-0.83 |
| 4 | High Risk | 0.36-0.66 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | < 0.36 |
s_15_4
Description
Financial inequality. Gini coefficient. Taken from the Standardized World Income Inequality Database.
Usage notes
Final value is an inverse standard-error-weighted mean across the three most recent data years per country. Uses the same source data and thresholds as the equivalent indicator in the Water Risk Filter dataset.
| Index | Label | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Low Risk | Gini ≤ 32 |
| 2 | Low Risk | > 32-36 |
| 3 | Moderate Risk | > 36-40 |
| 4 | High Risk | > 40-45 |
| 5 | Very High Risk | > 45 |
geometry
Description
Polygon geometry of the assessment unit.
Pricing
The first 10 sites/100ha are free of charge as part of a free trial.
Site uploads are equated to 1 site = 1 ha.
The minimum billed fee for one dataset is $10,000. For two datasets, the minimum billed fee is $13,000.
Please see this document for more details.
| Volume | Price |
|---|---|
| ≤ 50,000 ha, one dataset | $0.35/ha |
| ≤ 50,000 ha, both datasets | $0.50/ha |
| 50,001 – 100,000 ha, one dataset | $0.175/ha |
| 50,001 – 100,000 ha, both datasets | $0.25/ha |
| 100,001+ ha, one dataset | $0.0875/ha |
| 100,001+ ha, both datasets | $0.125/ha |
Resources
Provider
WWF
www.wwf.deWWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) is an international conservation organisation headquartered in Gland (Switzerland), working through a network of national and regional offices.WWF produces environmental datasets and analytical tools spanning freshwater, biodiversity, forests, and climate.The WWF Risk Filter Suite, comprising the Water Risk Filter and the Biodiversity Risk Filter, is developed and maintained by WWF Germany.