VICHADA CLIMATE REFORESTATION PROJECT (PAZ)

Audit Analysis

A long-running Gold Standard reforestation project in Colombia with VVB-confirmed additionality and a 20% buffer pool, but burdened by an extensive list of material findings and corrective actions spanning baseline quantification, carbon calculation accuracy, operational safety, and stakeholder engagement. The project delivered roughly 46% of the pro-rata ex-ante expectation for the latest monitoring period, and the shift from a 'quantified' to a 'deemed negligible' leakage justification between verification cycles warrants scrutiny.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Carbon calculation was based on secondary data overestimating growth (material finding CUC-FAR-08), and a corrective action requires recalculating the model using local field data
• ⚠The baseline document did not quantify baseline activity for the project area (GS-CAR-25), undermining the additionality and baseline chain
• ⚠46+ material findings and 40+ corrective actions remain open, spanning worker safety, chemical management, biodiversity monitoring, and stakeholder consultation
• ⚠Leakage justification shifted from 'quantified' (2024 verification) to 'deemed negligible' (2026 verification) with a 0% deduction, a weakening of the analytical basis
• ⚠Monoculture plantations identified as susceptible to pest and disease attacks with no robust mitigation in place (GS-CAR-17)

Credit Vintages