Safe Water Programme – Nigeria – VPA 05

Audit Analysis

A Gold Standard safe-water project in Nigeria with VVB-confirmed additionality but significant documentation and methodological concerns, including a 24-item corrective action list, a large FNRB discrepancy between reporting periods, and a 0% leakage deduction whose justification is contradicted across documents. The project's scope appears to blend cookstove and water activities under a water-only methodology, raising over-crediting risk.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠FNRB value differs by a factor of ~85 between the 2023 verification report (0.96, local field method) and the 2024 verification report (82.3, national default), with no documented explanation for the change
• ⚠24 corrective actions required by the VVB, including Kenya baseline parameters appearing in a Nigerian project, parameter value errors, and sampling methodology non-compliance with CDM Appendix 3
• ⚠Leakage deduction of 0% with contradictory justification: the 2024 verification report states leakage was 'not addressed' while the 2024 monitoring report claims it was 'deemed negligible'
• ⚠Project name in the verification report is 'Improved Cookstove and Safe Water Programme' but the registered methodology covers only safe drinking water supply, suggesting scope beyond the approved methodology
• ⚠Claimed and verified ERR figures are identical (1,232,137 tCO₂e) in the 2024 verification report, indicating no independent recalculation or adjustment by the VVB

Credit Vintages