World Solve

Even legally protected forests are frequently logged illegally due to weak enforcement and high demand for timber, undermining conservation efforts on paper. Stopping this in practice, not just in law, remains an unresolved global challenge.

Mangroves protect coastlines from storms and support rich ecosystems, but they continue to be cleared for development faster than restoration efforts can replace them. Speeding up restoration while slowing clearance remains unresolved.

Invasive plants can spread aggressively in protected parks and reserves, outcompeting native species even where conservation efforts are actively underway. Effective, affordable control methods that don't damage the broader ecosystem remain incomplete.

Historic sites are being lost to conflict, flooding, and neglect faster than preservation efforts can keep up, often permanently. Cheaper, faster preservation methods could save irreplaceable pieces of human history.

Coral bleaching events are becoming more frequent as ocean temperatures rise, and restoration efforts are still small and slow. Without faster recovery methods, many reef ecosystems may not survive this century.

Millions of tons of plastic enter the ocean every year, and cleanup efforts remove only a small fraction of it. Without cutting the source and scaling removal, marine ecosystems will keep absorbing the damage.

Achieving protocols for equitable and rapid distribution of medical countermeasures in pandemics at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving solutions for managing the growing burden of mental health conditions in young populations at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving low-cost diagnostics and treatments for the major neglected tropical diseases at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving technologies for verifying compliance with international environmental agreements at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving protocols for the responsible sharing and use of large-scale human genomic and health data at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving institutional designs that increase the political feasibility of ambitious climate policies at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving transparent and equitable allocation mechanisms for scarce climate finance at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving systems for continuous verification of nuclear non-proliferation commitments at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving institutional arrangements that improve the integration of climate considerations into all policy domains at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving institutional arrangements that reduce the risk of catastrophic accidents involving advanced technologies at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving mechanisms ensuring that benefits of advanced AI are widely shared rather than concentrated at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving interventions that reliably increase vaccine confidence without polarizing communities at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving affordable and scalable solutions for safe sanitation in dense urban informal settlements at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Mangrove forests along Australia's coastline have been cleared for aquaculture and development, and restoration efforts struggle with low seedling survival rates and unclear land tenure over tidal zones.