PAYMENT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES SCHEME FOR FOREST MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION OF WATER SOURCES IN THE JURISDICTION OF CORPOCHIVOR

Audit Analysis

A VCS forest management project in Colombia with a VVB-verified combined additionality test, a 17% non-permanence buffer, and no reported reversal events. However, the project-specific modeled baseline, a 0% leakage deduction (contradicting a 5% figure in the validation report), and several unresolved parameter contradictions between documents moderate confidence in the integrity and claim-safety of the credits. The project delivered approximately 115% of its pro-rata ex-ante expectation for the elapsed monitoring period, indicating no over-crediting.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Leakage deduction of 0% in the verification report contradicts a 5% deduction in the validation report; for a jurisdictional forest project, a zero leakage deduction warrants stronger justification
• ⚠Buffer pool percentage differs between documents: 17% in the verification report (2021) versus 20% in the validation report (2018), indicating a shift in non-permanence risk assessment
• ⚠Lifetime ex-ante ERR differs between the verification report (49,857 tCO2e) and an earlier appendix (63,904 tCO2e), a 22% discrepancy that affects pro-rata calculations
• ⚠Baseline is project-specific and modeled rather than measured, reducing confidence in the counterfactual

Credit Vintages