WASHINGTON -- The rise of militant Islam in Central Asia has been driven by poverty and lack of human rights. While undemocratic regimes and the dearth of economic opportunities create resentment among the people, environmental destruction adds to the misery.
The destruction, due to overuse, of the Aral Sea is one of the gravest environmental disasters in human history, threatening the development of a region that struggles with Islamic fundamentalism. The political stability of the Aral basin, consisting of the five former Soviet republics of Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, is essential for the entire world.
The Aral Sea has shrunk in three decades with unprecedented speed. In the mid-1950s, it was still the fourth-largest lake in the world. Aral fisheries used to feed the population of Central Asia, and fish factories on its shores provided employment and propaganda opportunities for the Soviet Union.