Reforestation of Degraded Forest Reserves in Ghana
#93of 261 in Soil carbon#13of 21 in Ghana#730of 1339 in Verra (VCS)#36of 97 in AR-ACM0003
Audit Analysis
This Ghanaian reforestation project (VCS-987, AR-ACM0003 v2.0) has a confirmed additionality assessment and a 10% buffer pool, but is burdened by eight material findings from the 2024 verification report, a significant shift in the leakage deduction from 24% to 0% with a justification the VVB itself flagged as unclear, and a five-fold increase in the lifetime ex-ante estimate between the PDD and the 2024 monitoring report. The project is functional and registered, but the volume of unresolved data-quality and methodological issues limits confidence in the integrity and claim-safety of the credits.
Red Flags
- Eight material findings in the 2024 verification report, including incorrect application of AR TOOL 14 for the zero-baseline demonstration, unclear zero-leakage justification, and inconsistencies in reported project areas
- Leakage deduction dropped from 24% (2013 verification) to 0% (2024 verification) with a 'deemed negligible' justification that the VVB itself flagged as lacking robust evidence
- Lifetime ex-ante estimate increased five-fold from 551,338 tCO2e in the 2018 PDD to 2,729,257 tCO2e in the 2024 monitoring report, with no clear explanation in the extracted record
- Buffer pool percentage contradicts between the 2023 verification report (10%) and a 2023 appendix (0.1%), a 100-fold discrepancy
- Data quality issues including duplicate data entries and date-format errors identified in the 2021 monitoring cycle
Credit Vintages
| Issued | Retired | Available | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 4,640 | 4,640 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 207,332 | 160,215 | 47,117 | |
| 2018 | 140,183 | 133,767 | 6,416 | |
| 2019 | 414,333 | 389,489 | 24,844 | |
| 2021 | 77,471 | 73,598 | 3,873 | |
| 2022 | 185,931 | 140,495 | 45,436 | |
| 2023 | 108,459 | 93,502 | 14,957 | |
| Total | 1,138,349 | 995,706 | 142,643 |
Risk Indicators
VVB-confirmed combined test
10% buffer pool; one contained 2013 fire; no recent reversals
0% deduction, 'deemed negligible'; VVB flagged justification as unclear; prior 24% deduction
Project-specific baseline; reassessment date not stated; not yet due under VCS 10-yr rule
FPIC conducted, grievance mechanism in place, safeguards documented (2023–2024)
CORSIA excluded; CCP status not stated in available documents
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