Western Kenya Soil Carbon Project
#170of 261 in Soil carbon#134of 157 in Kenya#1083of 1339 in Verra (VCS)#6of 8 in VM0017
Audit Analysis
The Western Kenya Soil Carbon Project is a VCS ALM soil-carbon project with a 27% buffer pool and no reported reversals, but it carries 12 material findings, a high overall risk rating of 27, and multiple cross-document contradictions that undermine confidence in its documentation and monitoring data. The project delivered only about 73% of its monitoring-period ERR expectation, and key SOC data were missing for the entire first monitoring period due to pandemic restrictions. While the VVB (TÜV NORD CERT) confirmed additionality and the project is registered, the volume of corrective actions and inconsistencies warrants caution before relying on its credits.
Red Flags
- 12 material findings raised by the VVB, including insufficient additionality demonstration, inconsistent leakage justification, non-reproducible ERR calculations, and insufficient safeguards description
- Overall risk rating of 27.00 (Internal 16, External 4, Natural 6.72) as reported in the verification report
- SOC removals could not be estimated for the entire 2019–2022 monitoring period due to missing data (fertilizer use, crop yields, SOC parameters)
- Seven contradictions across documents, including conflicting buffer pool percentages (27% vs 12%), conflicting leakage justifications (deemed negligible vs quantified), and conflicting verified ERR figures (79,391 vs 123,215)
- Leakage deduction of 0% with a justification that the VVB itself flagged as inconsistent (Finding 4), requiring corrective action to demonstrate leakage is truly zero
Credit Vintages
| Issued | Retired | Available | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 5,609 | 0 | 5,609 | |
| 2020 | 22,434 | 0 | 22,434 | |
| 2021 | 22,434 | 73 | 22,361 | |
| 2022 | 7,478 | 0 | 7,478 | |
| Total | 57,955 | 73 | 57,882 |
Risk Indicators
VVB-confirmed barrier test but flagged as insufficiently dem
27% buffer pool, no reversals, but risk assessment flagged a
0% deduction with justification flagged as inconsistent by V
Project-specific baseline; 10-year reassessment not yet due
FPIC and grievance mechanism present, but VVB flagged insuff
CORSIA eligibility and CCP status not stated in available do
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