GS1247 VPA 46 Eritrean District Boreholes

Audit Analysis

A Gold Standard borehole water-supply project in Eritrea with VVB-confirmed additionality and no reversal events, but undermined by a dense set of material findings, unresolved contradictions in leakage treatment and crediting-period dates, and the absence of any stated buffer pool. The project delivers its claimed reductions for the monitoring period, yet the data-quality issues and open corrective actions limit confidence in the robustness of the credit.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Crediting period is contradictory: the monitoring report (2023) states 2015-2022 while the validation report (2025) states 2025-2030; the monitoring period (2023-2024) does not fall within either, creating ambiguity about which period the 37,380 tCO₂e applies to.
• ⚠Leakage deduction was 5 % in the PDD but reduced to 0 % in the 2023 monitoring report on the basis of 'deemed negligible', with no quantified justification provided.
• ⚠No buffer pool or permanence mechanism is stated in any available document, leaving reversal risk (borehole failure, pump breakdown) unmitigated.
• ⚠Multiple open FARs (SDG indicators at VPA level, fNRB report, monitoring-option justification) and CARs (RCF date clarity, double-counting prevention, seasonality in usage surveys) remain unresolved.
• ⚠ERR figures differ between two verification reports (33,064 in Jan 2023 vs 37,380 in Sep 2023), attributed to table inconsistencies that were 'now amended'.

Credit Vintages