In 1998, an international framework was established to improve air quality in Sub-Saharan Africa. The first regional conference was organized by the World Bank on June 26th, 2001 in Dakar, Senegal, to discuss the issue of leaded gasoline as a major source of emissions in traffic-heavy towns and cities in developing countries. The harmful health effects of lead exposure in children, such as brain and nervous system damage, prompted the "Dakar Declaration." This was a joint effort by the World Health Organization and 25 sub-Saharan countries, the oil industry, civil companies, and other international agencies to eliminate leaded gasoline by December 31, 2005.

As part of this project, Blacksmith Institute helped the state Environmental Department and AfricaClean (a local air quality monitoring group) to design and implement a monitoring routine for vehicle emissions. The result was to improve emissions standards and overall air quality.

Oswal Chemical and Fertilizer Ltd (OCFL) was set up in 1999 just five kilometers from the deep-sea harbor in the port town of Paradeep in Orissa. OCFL is a Rs 2,000-crore fertilizer plant, producing 2 million tons of Di Ammonia Phosphate (DAP) fertilizer per annum, 7,000 TPD of sulfuric acid and 2,650 TPD of Phosphoric acid – one of the largest producers in India.

Since production began in April 1999, OCFL has faced a host of complaints and agitation from local people over water and air pollution. It has a pollution lawsuit pending against it in the Orissa High Court. There were allegations of leakages of ammonia from the industry on May 24, 2000, November 11, 2000 and September 22, 2003. The industry was inspected several times by the Orissa State Pollution Control Board who observed that the unit was not complying with the environmental stipulations and discharging untreated wastewater to the nearby creek and the Mahanadi.

Cambodia is undergoing rapid development and subsequent population and industrial growth. Air quality is deteriorating as a result of industrial and handicraft processes as well as fossil fuel combustion. As of 2004, air quality monitoring activities were inadequate as there was no established technical guideline. While environmental conditions and human health are being threatened by poor air quality, setting technical monitoring guidelines was of utmost importance. Blacksmith Institute worked with the Cambodia Ministry of Environment's Department of Pollution Control on setting guidelines to help governments derive legally enforceable air quality standards. Moreover, the organizations devised action plans to carry out local control measures and to advise environmental health authorities and professionals.

Many scientific studies have linked breathing polluted air full of particulate matter to a series of significant health problems, including: aggravated asthma, coughing, painful breathing, chronic bronchitis, decreased lung function, and premature death. Acceptance and promotion of these guidelines was thus an extremely important step in developing a full air quality monitoring and enforcement system in Cambodia.