Concosta REDD+ Project

Audit Analysis

The Concosta REDD+ Project in Colombia has a verified additionality test, a 10% buffer pool, and a quantified 20% leakage deduction, but is undermined by an extensive list of material findings (32 VCS NCRs, 18 CCB NCRs, 29 corrective actions) covering indigenous community engagement, armed-conflict risk, boundary disputes, and incomplete monitoring. The project delivered only about 63% of its pro-rata ex-ante expectation for the 2018–2019 monitoring period, which is conservative but the discrepancy between the 2019 and 2024 verification reports (622,548 vs 421,840 tCO₂e) raises data-reliability questions. Overall, the project meets minimum VCS requirements but carries significant social, governance, and documentation risks typical of a REDD+ project operating in a conflict-affected region of Colombia.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠32 VCS nonconformity reports and 18 CCB NCRs were raised during verification, indicating systemic compliance gaps in monitoring, community engagement, and risk management
• ⚠The project did not undergo a CCB verification public comment period prior to verification, a procedural gap that limits external scrutiny
• ⚠Material findings include unresolved concerns about indigenous community consultation, boundary disputes, armed-conflict risk, and incomplete non-permanence risk reporting
• ⚠Contradictory verified ERR figures (421,840 in the 2024 report vs 622,548 in the 2019 report) for what appears to be the same monitoring period raise data-reliability concerns
• ⚠The ex-ante lifetime ERR is inconsistent within the same 2015 validation report (10,019,347 vs 8,272,143 tCO₂e), undermining confidence in the baseline projection

Credit Vintages