World Solve

Mining for the metals used in batteries and electronics often destroys forests, rivers, and habitats that took centuries to form. Balancing resource needs with ecosystem protection remains a persistent unresolved tension.

Overgrazing and development have degraded vast grassland ecosystems worldwide, and restoration efforts remain small compared to the scale of the damage. A more scalable restoration method could recover important habitat and carbon storage.

Bees and other pollinators face combined pressure from pesticides, habitat loss, and disease, and addressing just one threat rarely solves the overall decline. A comprehensive solution addressing all major threats together remains unbuilt.

Living without normal gravity weakens astronauts' bones and muscles over time. Practical, affordable ways to simulate gravity in space stations remain mostly untested at scale.

Migratory birds depend on a chain of habitats across multiple countries, and losing even one critical stopover point can threaten an entire species' survival. Coordinating protection across this many jurisdictions remains an unresolved conservation challenge.

Insect populations, including many pollinators, have been declining in various regions due to habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change, threatening the broader ecosystems and agriculture that depend on them. Reversing this decline at scale remains unresolved.

A fungal disease combined with habitat destruction has driven sharp declines in amphibian populations across many regions, and effective large-scale intervention remains limited. Protecting these ecologically important species remains an unresolved conservation priority.

Colony collapse disorder continues to threaten commercial and wild bee populations that are essential for pollinating much of the global food supply. A comprehensive solution addressing all contributing factors at once remains unresolved.

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.

As cities and suburbs expand, they often replace the wildflower meadows and natural habitats that pollinators depend on with lawns and pavement. Designing urban growth that preserves pollinator habitat remains inconsistently practiced.

Solar and wind farms are essential for clean energy but can sometimes be built in locations that disrupt sensitive wildlife habitats if siting isn't carefully planned. Balancing rapid renewable deployment with habitat protection remains an ongoing challenge.

Invasive plant species can spread aggressively in forest understories, crowding out native plants that many forest animals depend on for food and habitat. Effective, scalable control of this lower-profile but significant ecological threat remains incomplete.

Factory farming, animal testing, and habitat destruction all cause animal suffering for human benefit, but there's no consistent ethical standard for how much suffering is acceptable and why. This gap shows up in inconsistent laws and practices worldwide.

Develop approaches for safeguarding wildlife, rangers, local communities, and habitats where conflict undermines governance and fuels extraction.

Develop integrated fisheries, water-flow, pollution, invasive-species, and habitat strategies for ecosystems supporting millions of people.

Create rapid assessment, habitat protection, captive breeding, community stewardship, and funding models for species discovered in highly localized habitats.

Develop collection, storage, propagation, and assisted-migration strategies for native plants whose historical habitats are no longer climatically stable.

Build coordinated monitoring, habitat protection, energy-infrastructure planning, and legal cooperation for species crossing many countries.