World Solve

Seagrass meadows are highly effective at storing carbon and supporting marine life, but they continue to decline due to pollution, dredging, and coastal development. Restoring them at a pace that matches their loss remains an unresolved challenge.

Bycatch, the unintentional capture of dolphins, sea turtles, and other non-target species in fishing gear, remains a significant driver of population decline for several marine species. Designing gear that fully prevents this remains technically unresolved.

Dams provide clean energy and water management benefits but can block the migration routes that many freshwater fish species depend on to reproduce. Designing infrastructure that serves both human and ecological needs remains an unresolved engineering challenge.

Vultures help prevent disease spread by consuming carcasses quickly, but populations have declined sharply in various regions due to poisoning and habitat loss. Protecting this often-overlooked but ecologically important species remains an unresolved conservation issue.

River dolphins are highly sensitive to pollution and habitat disruption, and several populations have declined sharply as rivers become more polluted and fragmented by development. Reversing this decline remains an unresolved conservation priority.

Monarch butterflies depend on specific milkweed habitats along their long migration routes, and the loss of this habitat across multiple countries has contributed to sharp population declines. Coordinating protection across their entire migratory range remains unresolved.

Escaped farmed fish can compete with, interbreed with, or spread disease to native wild fish populations, threatening genetic diversity and long-term population health. Preventing these escapes and their ecological impact remains an unresolved aquaculture industry challenge.

Managed honeybees, while important for agriculture, can sometimes outcompete native pollinator species for food resources when placed in sensitive natural areas. Balancing agricultural pollination needs with native species protection remains an unresolved ecological challenge.

Some people reach old age with sharp minds and healthy bodies, while others decline much earlier, and genetics only explains part of it. Understanding this gap could extend healthy years of life for far more people.

Achieving real-time acoustic-optical networks tracking insect biomass decline 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.

A persistent gap exists in realizing practical, scalable solutions for early detection of groundwater depletion and quality decline at basin scale. Scientific understanding, engineering readiness and institutional capacity remain insufficient to translate promising concepts into durable impact under real-world constraints of cost, skills and governance.

A persistent gap exists in realizing practical, scalable solutions for solutions for managing the social and economic transitions associated with the decline of fossil fuels. Scientific understanding, engineering readiness and institutional capacity remain insufficient to translate promising concepts into durable impact under real-world constraints of cost, skills and governance.

Despite recognition of its importance, reliable methods for regenerative approaches to reverse age-related decline in muscle and cognition are still lacking. Progress is hindered by incomplete mechanistic knowledge, high capital and operational barriers, and the absence of deployment models suited to the contexts of greatest need.