GS7591 VPA 34 Zambian Central Province Safe Water

Audit Analysis

This Gold Standard safe-water/cookstove displacement project in Zambia has a sound design foundation with VVB-confirmed additionality and no reversal events, but is undermined by a very large number of material findings, a water-quality pass rate that dropped to 77%, and a claimed emission reduction figure that exceeds the project's own lifetime ex-ante estimate. The 0% leakage deduction is supported by contradictory justifications across documents, and the project-specific baseline adds conservatism risk. Overall, the project shows moderate integrity with significant operational and reporting concerns that temper confidence in the credit volume.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Claimed ERR of 363,285 tCO₂e (verification report, Oct 2025) exceeds the lifetime ex-ante estimate of 300,000 tCO₂e, indicating potential over-crediting for a single 15-month monitoring period
• ⚠Water quality pass rate dropped from 95% to 77% in the current monitoring period; 13 boreholes in VPA GS7687 failed turbidity testing in Feb/Mar 2025
• ⚠Leakage justification is contradictory: the verification report (Oct 2025) states 'quantified' while the monitoring report (Oct 2025) states 'deemed negligible', yet the deduction is 0% in both
• ⚠Total ERR claimed differs by more than 2× between the verification report (363,285) and the monitoring report (166,738) for the same period
• ⚠VVB raised a Forward Action Request for potential retroactive adjustment of emission reductions for the Oct 2024–Mar 2025 gap period, resolved only after the developer confirmed usage rates did not decline

Credit Vintages