Despite the lower rates of industrialization, developing countries raise concerns about numerous environmental problems. Wastewater is a great problem in the environment where sanitation is very poor. A large number of people become infected with intestinal bacteria every day, and the mortality rates from diarrhea are comparatively high. Exposure to toxic chemicals is another problem affecting uneducated people. Poor rural inhabitants deal with toxic garbage to remove precious components and sell them. In some areas, local industries emit too much toxic gasses so that people have no chance to survive there.
Apparently, not all third-world countries can resolve the emerging issues successfully. Many of them still do not have clear environmental policies, regulatory agencies do not receive financial backing, and officials do not wish to enforce already existing regulations, not even to mention issuing new ones. About a decade ago, developing countries were inspired by the successful start of the US sulfur dioxide trading program. Tradable permits, emission fees, and financial incentives for eliminating wastes became popular in Asian countries. Environmentalists argued that these programs were quite cost effective, but most of them were denied to implement. Across all the developed world, the most helpful policies were implemented in Chile. Construction of new gas pipelines sufficiently improved air quality in Santiago. Several Chinese towns made attempts to implement permits on industrial emissions, but the initiative has not met a great success.
Some developing countries found the US Toxic Release Inventory program more applicable to their domestic environment. Indonesia has launched its own program that evaluated pollution. Similar initiatives were implemented in China, India, and Vietnam.