GS1247 VPA 225 The Gambia Safe Water

Audit Analysis

The Gambia Safe Water project (GS1247 VPA 225) is a Gold Standard safe water project with VVB-verified additionality and no reported reversal events, but it carries moderate risk from a project-specific baseline, a 0% leakage deduction that contradicts the PDD's 5% figure, and the absence of a buffer pool. Extensive material findings—including repeated water quality failures and 21 corrective action requests—indicate operational and documentation weaknesses that temper confidence in the credit's robustness.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Leakage deduction of 0% in the 2024 verification report contradicts the PDD's 5% deduction; the justification shifted from 'deemed negligible' to 'quantified' without clear reconciliation
• ⚠19 boreholes failed water quality testing in Q1 2021 and 11 in Q2 2021 due to coliforms, indicating operational reliability concerns
• ⚠Five Forward Action Requests (FARs) remain open, including evaluation of SDG indicators and submission of an fNRB report at VPA level
• ⚠CORSIA eligibility and CCP status are not stated in any available document, leaving dual-channel risk unassessed

Credit Vintages