Acapa -­ Bajo Mira Y Frontera REDD+ Project

Audit Analysis

The Acapa-Bajo Mira REDD+ project in Colombia is a VCS-registered avoided-deforestation project with VVB-confirmed additionality, a 10% buffer pool, and no reported reversal events. However, the project-specific baseline, a 67% pro-rata delivery rate for the 2019 monitoring period, 41 nonconformity reports, and 18 open corrective actions raise meaningful concerns about data reliability and long-term claim robustness. The record is moderately transparent but contains several unresolved contradictions and gaps in key parameters.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠The 2019 monitoring period delivered only ~67% of the pro-rata ex-ante expectation (270,392 vs ~404,786 tCO2e), suggesting potential over-crediting in the lifetime estimate or under-delivery in the field.
• ⚠41 nonconformity reports (32 VCS + 9 CCB) and 18 corrective actions were raised in the 2024 verification, including transcription errors in multiple tables and mismatched leakage values between tables 17 and 18.
• ⚠The ex-ante lifetime ERR figure is internally contradictory within the same validation report (12,143,586 vs 10,535,712 tCO2e), undermining confidence in the baseline estimate.
• ⚠A methodology deviation was approved to use the VT0005 remote-sensing tool for biomass measurement instead of ground plots, introducing additional uncertainty into carbon stock estimates.
• ⚠The baseline is project-specific rather than jurisdictional, and the last baseline reassessment date is not stated in any available document despite the 10-year reassessment interval having passed (project start 2013).

Credit Vintages