From Renewable Energy to Peacebuilding in Mali MINUSMA’s Opportunity to Bridge the Gap

This report involved two principal lines of research: a broad conflict analysis of Mali and a review of efforts by the UN peace operation, MINUSMA, to transition to renewable energy. First, the conflict analysis examined the history of the Malian conflict and the evolving roles of geography and climate as core factors in the conflict dynamics. On the basis of a review of energy markets commissioned in select urban centers in the North, supplemented by expert interviews and secondary sources, the authors analyzed the role of diesel and electrification patterns in the political economy of the conflict. The research included conducting a mapping of local, national, and international actors involved in the governance, management, and use of fossil fuels in the country. Second, the study analyzed MINUSMA’s energy practices and efforts to deploy renewable-energy systems. From looking at mission budgetary and planning documents and drawing on interviews with mission personnel and external researchers, the authors describe the mission’s energy requirements and operational context for energy generation. The report reviews MINUSMA’s solar pilot project and analyzes the mission’s planning assumptions and priorities in the context of Mali’s conflict dynamics and the mission’s mandate and operational parameters.