GS1247 VPA 265 Improved Kitchen Regimes Multi-Country PoA - Dowa Boreholes, Malawi

Audit Analysis

A Gold Standard borehole water-supply project in Malawi with VVB-confirmed additionality and no reversal events, but weakened by a project-specific baseline, a leakage deduction that dropped from 5% in the PDD to 0% in the latest verification, and a heavy load of closed corrective actions that signal data-quality fragility. The project delivered 97.3% of its claimed emissions reductions for the monitoring period, which is reassuring, yet the low extraction confidence and twelve inter-document contradictions limit confidence in the underlying data.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Leakage deduction reduced from 5% (PDD, 2023) to 0% 'deemed negligible' (verification report, 2025) without a clearly documented re-justification in the extracted record
• ⚠Twelve contradictions across documents, including a usage-monitoring-method conflict (annual survey vs. smart meter) within the same year, undermining data reliability
• ⚠Minimum extraction confidence rated low, meaning at least one key document was poorly readable and key parameters may be misstated
• ⚠Five open Forward Action Requests from the Gold Standard review (SDG indicators at VPA level, fNRB report, monitoring justification) remain unresolved
• ⚠SDG 5 impact reported as negative: 29–38.9% increase in time spent collecting water and fuel compared to baseline, raising community-benefit concerns

Credit Vintages