INFAPRO Rehabilitation of logged-over dipterocarp forest in Sabah, Malaysia

Audit Analysis

A long-running VCS ALM forest rehabilitation project in Sabah with a VVB-confirmed additionality test, a 12% buffer pool, and no reported reversal events. However, the project is undermined by 12 inter-document contradictions—most critically on FPIC status, leakage treatment (10% vs 0%), and the crediting period (30 vs 84 years)—along with two material findings requiring corrective action. The verified ERR for the monitoring period represents roughly 60% of the pro-rata ex-ante expectation, indicating conservative delivery.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠FPIC status directly contradicts between the 2011 verification report (conducted) and the 2026 verification report (not conducted); the more recent 2026 report is privileged, meaning free, prior and informed consent may not have been obtained.
• ⚠Leakage deduction is 10% in the 2011 verification report but 0% in the 2025 monitoring report, and the 2026 verification report states the justification was 'not addressed'—a material inconsistency in a project type where displacement of logging activity is plausible.
• ⚠Crediting period is stated as 30 years (2007–2036) in the 2026 verification report but 84 years (2007–2091) in the 2011 verification report; the 30-year figure is privileged as more recent, but the discrepancy raises questions about the original project design.
• ⚠Two material findings in the 2026 verification report: 30 sample plots within 30 m of roads were included (deviation from the PDD sampling framework) and the QC mean relative difference of 5.7% exceeded the 5% threshold, with corrective actions still outstanding.

Credit Vintages