GS1247 VPA 191 Zambia Eastern Province Safe Water Project

Audit Analysis

This Gold Standard safe water VPA under a multi-country PoA has a VVB-confirmed combined additionality test and no reversal events, but is undermined by a 0% leakage deduction with contradictory justifications across documents, a significant ERR under-delivery (approximately 24% of the pro-rata expectation for the monitoring period), and an extensive list of unresolved corrective actions and open findings. Multiple data contradictions between the PDD, verification reports, and monitoring reports reduce confidence in the reliability of the reported figures.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠ERR verified (14,266) is only ~24% of the pro-rata expectation (60,000) for the 2-year monitoring period against the 5-year crediting period, indicating substantial under-delivery
• ⚠Leakage deduction of 0% justified only as 'deemed negligible' in the verification report, while the PDD (June 2023) specifies a 5% deduction — an unexplained 5-percentage-point reduction
• ⚠Five FARs remain open (SDG indicator evaluation at VPA level, fNRB report at VPA level, monitoring justification), indicating unresolved verification gaps
• ⚠27 boreholes failed water quality tests in Q1 2022 and were removed from crediting; 21 required professional flushing — operational reliability concerns

Credit Vintages