The draft declaration was put before the South Asian environmental ministers for the official declaration at the Seventh meeting of the Governing Council of South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) held on 22 April 1998 in Malé, the Republic of Maldives. The Governing Council meeting was inaugurated by His Excellency Mr. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Republic of Maldives and attended by ministers and high level policy makers from South Asian environment ministries. It resulted in the approval of the Declaration on control and prevention of air pollution by South Asian Governments.

The aim of the Declaration is to achieve intergovernmental cooperation to address the increasing threat of transboundary air pollution and consequential  impacts due to concentrations of pollutant gases and acid deposition on human health,  ecosystem function and corrosion of materials. Besides laying down the general principles of intergovernmental cooperation for air pollution abatement, the Declaration sets up an institutional framework linking scientific research and policy formulation. The Declaration also calls for the continuation of this process in stages, with mutual consultation, to draw up and implement national and regional action plans and protocols based on a fuller understanding of transboundary air pollution issues.

As a result of the Declaration the major implications in the short-term could be: (I) evolving of an institutional structure at national level both for of policy response and the technical requirements; (ii) strengthening of monitoring arrangements; (iii) baseline studies to assess and analyze the air pollution issue; and (iv) development and/or adoption of national action plans.

In the long-term, the Declaration could be one of the central means for protecting the atmospheric environment in South Asia. In the years to come it could serve as one more bridge between different political systems and as a factor of some stability in years of political change. It could lead to the development of international environmental law and also create the essential framework for controlling and reducing the damage to human health and the environment caused by localized and transboundary air pollution. It is a successful example of what can be achieved through intergovernmental cooperation.

In addition to the Declaration, a follow up action plan has also been agreed. Follow up activities will be implemented in three levels, National, Sub-regional and Regional. In addition to the baseline studies and national action plans, a network of researchers and policy makers will also be established at the national level.  At the sub-regional level, national level activities will be aggregated through SACEP. Dissemination of tools, methodologies, and data will be done at the regional level through a regional resource center. The follow up program will be implemented by UNEP/EAP-AP in collaboration with SEI and SACEP and with Sida support.