GS1247 VPA 24 Improved Kitchen Regimes - Dowa Boreholes, Malawi

Audit Analysis

This Gold Standard borehole/improved-kitchen project in Malawi has confirmed additionality and no reversal events, but is undermined by extensive operational failures (multiple boreholes non-functional, water-quality test failures, 25 boreholes retired), a project-specific baseline, a leakage deduction that dropped from 5% in the PDD to 0% in the latest verification, and a very long list of corrective actions and data inconsistencies across documents. The overall picture is of a project with a sound design framework but significant execution and data-quality problems that erode confidence in the claimed reductions.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Multiple boreholes reported non-functional or retired during 2025 (374-048, 374-082, 374-015, BORDOKA25 ran dry in dry season) while the project still claims 51,336 tCO2e for the period
• ⚠Leakage deduction reduced from 5% in the PDD (2023) to 0% 'deemed negligible' in the 2026 verification report, with no quantified leakage analysis in the latest documents
• ⚠fNRB value increased from 0.81 (2019 monitoring report) to 0.94 (2026 verification report), directly increasing the credit claim; the 2026 value required a C4 Ecosolutions report for justification
• ⚠25 boreholes in Kasungu district retired from the project due to SHA exit plan, yet the project continues to claim reductions across the full borehole portfolio
• ⚠Registry lists incorrect methodology (TPDDTEC v1) and SDGs for some VPAs; correction request still pending

Credit Vintages