ZAMBIA EASTERN PROVINCE SAFE WATER

Audit Analysis

A Gold Standard water project in Zambia that displaces firewood use for water heating, with VVB-confirmed additionality and a verified usage rate (95%) exceeding the assumed rate (90%). However, the project carries moderate integrity risk from a 0% leakage deduction justified only as 'deemed negligible,' a project-specific baseline, and a history of 27 boreholes failing water-quality tests. Overall a reasonably sound avoidance project with some operational and methodological softness.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Leakage deduction of 0% with only a 'deemed negligible' justification is weak for a project where households could revert to firewood for water heating, especially given 27 boreholes that failed water-quality tests and were temporarily removed from crediting
• ⚠22 corrective action requests and 13 outstanding corrective actions (per the verification report) indicate recurring operational and reporting deficiencies, including water-quality failures, usage-survey gaps, and unclear community handover arrangements
• ⚠Seven contradictions across documents (usage monitoring method, benefit-sharing description, usage rate, leakage justification, ERR figures, crediting period) reduce confidence in the consistency of the project record

Credit Vintages