Pollution of surface waters in much of Asia is very serious. The Chinese government in 1981 decided to begin using aquatic insects to monitor water quality and requested help to know how to start. A very rich and mostly undescribed caddisfly fauna in southern China enticed the author to cooperate. Since then, he has collaborated with colleagues in Mongolia, Russia, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia, in addition to China, (1) to describe the East Asian fauna and make it accessible for biomonitoring purposes; (2) to teach courses in several of these countries for university instructors, water quality monitoring professionals, and environmental activists; and (3) to inform government officials and other decision makers about the merits of this technology for addressing pollution problems in their countries. Several suggestions for helping to assure successful research and teaching in Asia and other developing regions will be provided.