World Solve

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.

Illegal wildlife trade pushes species toward extinction while operating largely undetected across international borders. A more coordinated global tracking system could catch this trade before, not after, populations collapse.

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.

Create scalable combinations of eDNA, acoustic sensing, imaging, community science, and AI that produce trustworthy species data in under-surveyed ecosystems.

Develop targeted eradication and containment methods that protect native species, food systems, and local communities from unintended harms.

Develop species selection, watering, soil protection, maintenance financing, and monitoring systems that allow urban tree canopies to survive rapid development.

Develop scalable methods to harvest, process, and use invasive water plants without spreading them further or introducing toxins into feed, compost, or consumer goods.

Create traceability systems that can document catch location, species, labor conditions, and gear use for artisanal fishers without requiring expensive onboard technology.

Despite recognition of its importance, reliable methods for species-specific non-lethal control of invasive vertebrates 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.