GS1247 VPA 228 The Gambia Safe Water

Audit Analysis

The Gambia Safe Water project (GS1247 VPA 228) demonstrates confirmed additionality via a combined test verified by SustainCERT and a recently reassessed project-specific baseline (2024), with no reversal events. However, the absence of a buffer pool, a 0% leakage deduction (down from 5% in the original PDD), extensive corrective actions (21 CARs, 6 CLs), repeated water-quality failures across boreholes, and multiple cross-document contradictions in key emission figures materially weaken confidence in the integrity and safety of the claimed reductions.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Leakage deduction reduced from 5% (PDD, 2023) to 0% (verification report, 2024) with justification shifting from 'deemed negligible' to 'quantified' — the basis for the change is not transparently documented
• ⚠21 Corrective Action Requests and 6 Clarification Requests raised during verification, including usage-rate calculation errors, borehole count inconsistencies, and ex-ante parameter corrections, indicating the initial claims required significant revision
• ⚠19 boreholes failed water-quality testing in Q1 2021 and 11 in Q2 2021 due to coliforms; 18 boreholes required chlorination treatment — operational reliability of the emission-reduction mechanism is in question
• ⚠Five open Findings and Recommendations (FARs) remain unresolved, including SDG indicator evaluation at VPA level and submission of an fNRB report

Credit Vintages