Repository of problems worth solving
World Solve is a public institutional repository for identifying real unresolved problems across science, society, health, governance, economics, and local systems. Each entry is intended to be citable, inspectable, and actionable.
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4094Open
0Solved
9Humans
Millions of people across Bangladesh, West Bengal, and the Mekong region consume groundwater contaminated with toxic levels of arsenic and fluoride, causing severe chronic diseases due to lack of affordable community filtration systems.
health-biology
asia
bangladesh
arsenic
groundwater
haven
engineered
low-cost
technologies
filter
naturally
occurring
heavy
contamination
global-unspecified
fluoride
removing
climate-environment
Subsidized electricity for agricultural tube wells has caused deep water tables across Northern India and Northern China to collapse, threatening domestic drinking supplies and long-term agricultural survival.
local-regional
asia
india
agricultural
caused
haven
reversed
severe
aquifer
depletion
unmetered
groundwater
extraction
climate-environment
global-unspecified
whether
philosophy-ethics
prevent
Rapid installation of solar and wind capacity in countries like Vietnam and India frequently faces grid curtailment because high-voltage transmission lines and grid-scale battery storage are insufficiently developed.
climate-environment
asia
india
developed
grid
haven
scalable
architectures
integrate
intermittent
renewable
power
aging
global-unspecified
solar
energy
local-regional
whether
Over a billion people in Asia still rely on wood, dung, and coal for daily cooking, causing severe indoor air pollution and chronic respiratory illnesses, primarily affecting women and young children.
climate-environment
asia
myanmar
air-pollution
cooking
haven
replaced
dangerous
traditional
biomass
fuels
remote
rural
households
global-unspecified
health-biology
remains
reducing
Millions of delivery drivers and ride-hailing workers in South and Southeast Asia operate without employment benefits, workplace injury compensation, or collective bargaining rights, leaving them economically precarious.
economics-resources
asia
indonesia
workers
haven
established
labor
protections
gig
economy
platform
fast-growing
asian
informal
african
global-unspecified
worker
Migrant laborers moving between South/Southeast Asia and Gulf/East Asian nations often incur exorbitant debt to recruit agencies, exposing them to forced labor conditions and wage theft without reliable legal remedies.
social-civic-problems
asia
sri-lanka
migrant
debt
haven
created
safe
migration
frameworks
protect
cross-border
workers
global-unspecified
african
economics-resources
technology-computing
informal
Bridges, ports, and power stations across island nations are built with conventional standards that fail during combined seismic events, storm surges, and landslides, cutting off entire island populations from emergency relief.
climate-environment
asia
philippines
haven
created
modular
infrastructure
capable
withstanding
compound
disaster
hazards
pacific-asian
island
remote
communities
economics-resources
philosophy-ethics
While advanced manufacturing is concentrated in East Asia, neighboring developing economies remain trapped in low-margin raw material extraction and low-skilled assembly without technology transfer or capacity building.
economics-resources
asia
thailand
supply-chain
developing
economies
haven
built
equitable
semiconductor
supply
chains
distribute
technical
access
global-unspecified
asian
manufacturing
Indigenous peoples routinely lack formal land titles to ancestral territories, leading to forced displacement and loss of livelihoods when lands are designated for industrial agriculture, mining, or forestry concessions.
economics-resources
asia
laos
land
indigenous
haven
resolved
tenure
insecurity
tribal
minority
communities
southeast
climate-environment
global-unspecified
society-governance
climate
lack
While urban centers rapidly transition to cashless, tech-driven economies, rural populations with poor smartphone access and low digital literacy are increasingly excluded from formal banking, credit, and investment opportunities.
economics-resources
asia
cambodia
access
digital
rural
haven
bridged
widening
wealth
gap
driven
unequal
technology-computing
african
global-unspecified
remains
social-civic-problems
Metropolises like Jakarta, Bangkok, and Manila are sinking faster than global sea levels are rising. Engineering solutions like sea walls only buy time while urban land-use policies fail to stop illegal extraction.
climate-environment
asia
indonesia
haven
halted
physical
land
subsidence
caused
groundwater
over-extraction
rapidly
growing
urban
global-unspecified
cities
whether
african
Millions of informal recyclers form the backbone of Asian urban waste processing, yet they work under dangerous, toxic conditions without official recognition, equipment, or social safety protections.
local-regional
asia
india
waste-management
waste
informal
haven
integrated
pickers
modern
municipal
solid
management
systems
climate-environment
society-governance
economics-resources
global-unspecified
Despite international treaties, millions of metric tons of toxic e-waste are illegally imported into East and Southeast Asian informal processing hubs, contaminating local ecosystems and harming workers' health.
climate-environment
asia
malaysia
asian
haven
curbed
illegal
transboundary
shipment
electronic
waste
developing
nations
global-unspecified
economics-resources
african
workers
informal
Fast-moving consumer goods companies rely heavily on multi-layer plastic sachets to sell small product quantities affordably, generating unrecyclable plastic litter across waterways and marine systems.
economics-resources
asia
philippines
plastic
consumer
goods
haven
eliminated
single-use
packaging
distribution
networks
lower-income
climate-environment
global-unspecified
systems
waste
food
Global warming is causing Himalayan glaciers to melt rapidly, expanding high-altitude glacial lakes. When natural dams breach, catastrophic floods destroy downstream mountain settlements without adequate real-time warning systems.
climate-environment
asia
nepal
warning
systems
glacial
floods
haven
developed
scalable
early
lake
outburst
society-governance
real
time
technology-computing
economics-resources
Asia operates hundreds of young, high-emitting coal plants protected by long-term power purchase agreements. Early retirement initiatives face severe financial losses and political resistance from domestic energy sectors.
health-biology
asia
indonesia
financial
power
plants
early
haven
created
workable
transition
mechanisms
global-unspecified
whether
philosophy-ethics
technology-computing
way
Overfishing and destructive fishing practices like dynamite and cyanide fishing are collapsing fish stocks and destroying delicate coral reef ecosystems across disputed maritime territories without effective joint enforcement.
economics-resources
asia
china
fishing
haven
successfully
eliminated
illegal
unreported
unregulated
iuu
international
waters
coastal
communities
global-unspecified
near
science-space
Decades of aquaculture expansion destroyed vast mangrove ecosystems. Current restoration efforts suffer from low sapling survival rates and conflicts with commercial shrimp farming interests.
climate-environment
asia
thailand
mangrove
haven
scale-restored
degraded
forests
protect
coastal
zones
ocean
acidification
along
restoring
global-unspecified
restoration
whether
Critical peatlands and ancient rainforests in Sumatra and Kalimantan are continuously drained and burned for monoculture crops, releasing vast carbon reservoirs and driving endangered species like orangutans toward extinction.
climate-environment
asia
indonesia
deforestation
monoculture
haven
contained
rapid
tropical
driven
oil
palm
rubber
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
have
don
species
Unsustainable grazing and land degradation in the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts trigger toxic dust storms that sweep thousands of miles, destroying topsoil, damaging infrastructure, and worsening air quality across Northeast Asia.
climate-environment
asia
united-states
dust
storms
haven
halted
sand
sds
spreading
expanding
desertification
global-unspecified
african
access
economics-resources
land
parts
