Amazon Rio REDD+ IFM

Audit Analysis

The Amazon Rio REDD+ IFM project has a verified additionality assessment and a 10% buffer pool, but the verification report documents 22.2 ha of deforestation within the project area and 42.4 ha of illegal logging in the leakage belt while applying a 0% leakage deduction. The project delivered only about 35% of its pro-rata ex-ante expectation for the elapsed monitoring period, which is conservative but raises questions about baseline accuracy. The registry status remains 'verification approval requested,' meaning no credits have been issued yet.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠22.2 ha of unauthorized deforestation detected within the project area during the monitoring period, constituting a direct reversal of project benefits
• ⚠42.4 ha of illegal logging found in the leakage belt while the project applies a 0% leakage deduction justified as 'deemed negligible' — a direct contradiction
• ⚠Reversal/permanence risk is discussed qualitatively (illegal logging, invasions, wildfires) but no quantified permanence risk deduction or reversal event accounting is reported
• ⚠Four material contradictions between documents, including a 5× discrepancy in the claimed ERR figure (447,842 vs 2,297,369) and conflicting crediting periods (5-year vs 36-year)

Credit Vintages