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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4194Total
4194Open
0Solved
9Humans
Weak enforcement and high demand for ivory and rhino horn sustain illegal wildlife trade networks. AI-powered camera traps and ranger-support drone systems are improving anti-poaching efforts but need wider deployment.
economics-resources
africa
wildlife
efforts
poaching
continues
threaten
endangered
species
despite
conservation
weak
systems
climate-environment
society-governance
global-unspecified
illegal
philosophy-ethics
Cities like Lagos, Accra, and Dakar are losing land to erosion, threatening homes and economic infrastructure. Nature-based coastal defenses like mangrove restoration are cost-effective but underutilized.
economics-resources
africa
coastal
erosion
cities
infrastructure
rising
seas
threaten
major
african
like
climate-environment
global-unspecified
urban
systems
haven
Many African countries lack the weather stations and forecasting capacity to warn communities ahead of droughts or floods. Low-cost automated weather stations and mobile alert systems could save lives and crops.
climate-environment
africa
weather
systems
climate
data
early-warning
extreme
remain
sparse
continent
stations
society-governance
technology-computing
global-unspecified
whether
ensuring
real
Allegations of fraud and weak independent oversight undermine public trust in democratic transitions. Blockchain-based or biometric voter verification systems could improve election integrity.
society-governance
africa
blockchain
electoral
processes
several
african
countries
face
credibility
transparency
allegations
fraud
systems
public
technology-computing
across
global-unspecified
Understaffed courts leave suspects in pretrial detention for years, undermining justice and overcrowding prisons. Digital case-management systems and virtual hearings could speed up processing significantly.
society-governance
africa
systems
judicial
african
countries
suffer
severe
case
backlogs
understaffed
courts
technology-computing
digital
global-unspecified
whether
ensuring
economics-resources
Weak civil registration and statistical systems make policy planning difficult, as governments often lack reliable population and economic data. Mobile-based census and survey tools could modernize data collection affordably.
society-governance
africa
data
economic
basic
demographics
activity
remains
incomplete
continent
weak
civil
systems
global-unspecified
technology-computing
whether
philosophy-ethics
african
Conflict and climate shocks have displaced tens of millions, straining host communities and humanitarian systems. Digital service-delivery platforms for displaced populations could improve aid efficiency.
technology-computing
africa
displaced
populations
refugee
internally
person
among
largest
globally
conflict
global-unspecified
systems
climate-environment
digital
social-civic-problems
whether
african
Weak IP enforcement means inventors and creators often see their ideas copied without compensation, discouraging investment in R&D. Streamlined regional patent systems could better protect innovators.
local-regional
africa
innovators
piracy
intellectual
property
discourages
african
commercializing
inventions
weak
enforcement
society-governance
systems
asia
public
creating
accountable
open
Gulf of Guinea, Africa
Weak naval capacity among coastal states lets criminal networks disrupt shipping and extract ransoms. Shared regional maritime surveillance systems could improve enforcement capacity.
local-regional
africa
gulf-of-guinea
maritime
piracy
smuggling
persist
gulf
guinea
capacity
weak
naval
among
systems
society-governance
without
mass
surveillance
Competition over shrinking grazing land and water is turning traditional rivalries deadly in several regions. Conflict-early-warning systems and shared resource-management agreements could ease tensions.
social-civic-problems
africa
cattle
rustling
farmer-herder
clashes
growing
source
rural
violence
competition
over
global-unspecified
water
climate-environment
urban
african
asia
open
United Kingdom, Europe
The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for solutions for safe long-term storage and monitoring of captured carbon dioxide creates cascading risks across interconnected human and natural systems. Key missing elements include durable performance, low lifetime cost, and governance arrangements capable of sustaining impact beyond pilot stages.
society-governance
europe
united-kingdom
solutions
safe
long-term
storage
monitoring
captured
carbon
dioxide
breakthrough
approaches
systems
climate-environment
enabling
methods
robust
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Transporting fuel and life support reagents from Earth is economically non-viable for sustained settlements. We need robust robotic systems capable of excavating, purifying, and processing icy regolith under extreme thermal conditions.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
in-situ
extraction
refining
water
ice
mars
moon
remains
unproven
scale
systems
society-governance
climate-environment
under
ensuring
real
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Carrington-level space weather events can destroy global electrical grids, communication satellites, and orbital stations. Advanced space-based magnetometers and AI predictive models are required for early warning systems.
science-space
global-unspecified
cannot
reliably
predict
solar
coronal
mass
ejections
breach
earth
magnetosphere
systems
climate-environment
space
weather
infrastructure
society-governance
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Transit times to Mars and the outer planets require months to years of flight, increasing risk and cost. Breakthrough high-thrust, high-Isp propulsion systems—such as nuclear thermal or plasma engines—are critical.
science-space
global-unspecified
chemical
rockets
too
slow
efficient
human
payload
transport
solar
system
systems
society-governance
ensuring
informal
safety
reliability
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Radio communication links offer extremely limited bandwidth for high-definition scientific data streams from deep space. Developing ultra-precise laser beam stabilization near the Sun is essential for high-rate planetary telemetry.
science-space
global-unspecified
deep
space
laser
optical
communications
suffer
high
pointing
jitter
solar
philosophy-ethics
whether
systems
mathematics-logic
radio
fully
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Moon dust particles are sharp, electrostatically charged, and easily adhere to spacesuits and machinery. Electrostatic repulsion systems and dust-tolerant mechanical seals are urgently needed for lunar operations.
science-space
global-unspecified
lunar
dust
mechanical
regolith
causes
rapid
wear
atmospheric
contamination
closed
lack
systems
climate-environment
space
positioning
like
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Current space stations must re-supply metabolic consumables, water filtration media, and trace contaminant gases from Earth. Fully regenerative bio-synthetic life support systems are essential for long-term lunar and Martian outposts.
science-space
global-unspecified
life
support
systems
100
closed-loop
environmental
control
eclss
not
exist
society-governance
climate-environment
technology-computing
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
whether
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Next-generation telescopes and gigawatt-scale space solar power arrays are too large to fit in single rocket fairings. Highly coordinated multi-robot assembly systems operating in microgravity need to be developed and standardized.
science-space
global-unspecified
assembly
large
space
lack
scalable
mechanisms
autonomous
robotic
structures
next-generation
society-governance
systems
microgravity
climate-environment
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
While kinetic impactors work against predictable asteroids, long-period comets can appear with less than a year's warning. Rapid-response high-yield interception systems are needed to protect Earth from unexpected impacts.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
have
proven
way
divert
planet-threatening
comet
short-notice
trajectory
while
kinetic
systems
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
don
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Navigating craft and rovers on the lunar farside or in deep space relies heavily on congested Earth ground antenna networks. Scalable lunar and deep-space autonomous navigation and timing constellations are needed.
science-space
global-unspecified
space
positioning
systems
like
gps
not
extend
moon
interplanetary
whether
philosophy-ethics
infrastructure
mathematics-logic
protection
