Project Akwaaba | Forest Ecosystem Restoration in Ghana

Audit Analysis

Project Akwaaba is a soil-carbon forest restoration project in Ghana at the validation stage, with a 100-year permanence claim but no stated buffer pool, a project-specific baseline in a jurisdiction with an active Cocoa Forest REDD+ program, and an extensive list of 24 material findings and 24 corrective actions that raise serious concerns about methodological robustness. The 20% quantified leakage deduction and VVB-confirmed additionality test are positive, but the double-counting risk and absence of a buffer pool for a century-long claim are significant integrity gaps.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠No buffer pool percentage stated despite a 100-year permanence claim — reversal risk (fire, pests, encroachment) is identified but no quantitative risk mitigation mechanism is documented
• ⚠Double-counting risk with the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Program is explicitly flagged in material findings; the carve-out in Section 2.1.4 of the PD is insufficiently described
• ⚠24 material findings and 24 corrective actions at validation, including missing GHG ERR spreadsheet, insufficient leakage quantification, and inconsistencies in NPR scores — indicating the project documentation is far from robust
• ⚠Project-specific baseline in a country with an active jurisdictional REDD+ program, with no reassessment date stated and no jurisdictional alignment demonstrated

Credit Vintages

No issuances recorded on the registry.