Carmen del Darién (CDD) REDD+ Project

Audit Analysis

The Carmen del Darién REDD+ project meets core VCS requirements with VVB-verified additionality, a 20% quantified leakage deduction, and a 10% buffer pool, but is burdened by a project-specific baseline, a history of 41 nonconformity reports across VCS and CCB, and significant contextual risks in the Darién region (illegal armed groups, coca cultivation, ongoing disputes). The project delivered approximately 85% of its pro-rata ex-ante expectation for the 2018–2019 monitoring period, indicating no over-crediting, but the CCB public comment period was not conducted prior to verification and the project appears to have undergone a denial-and-reverification cycle.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠31 VCS nonconformity reports and 10 CCB nonconformity reports were identified and closed during verification, indicating systemic documentation and calculation weaknesses
• ⚠The project did not undergo a CCB verification public comment period prior to verification; corrective actions require submitting a new public comment period request and uploading revised documents addressing reasons for denial
• ⚠Material findings include risks associated with the presence of illegal armed groups, ongoing disputes, and illegal coca production in the project area, raising questions about the durability of avoided deforestation
• ⚠Baseline is project-specific rather than jurisdictional, and the last baseline reassessment date is not stated in available documents
• ⚠FNRB value and method are not stated in any available document, leaving the forest net regeneration baseline unquantified in the extracted record

Credit Vintages