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
Informal miners face high accident risks and receive low prices for minerals. Training programs and fair-trade mineral certification platforms could improve safety and incomes.
economics-resources
africa
miners
african
artisanal
lack
access
safe
mining
practices
markets
informal
global-unspecified
remains
asia
urban
Artisanal gold miners use liquid mercury to extract gold, discharging toxic heavy metals into river systems and causing severe neurological damage.
mathematics-logic
asia
indonesia
gold
mercury
artisanal
haven
eliminated
exposure
informal
mining
communities
miners
climate-environment
global-unspecified
way
philosophy-ethics
whether
Coastal fishers are forced to sell daily catches to predatory middlemen at fraction of market prices due to lack of real-time price transparency.
technology-computing
asia
sri-lanka
market
fishers
haven
built
affordable
digital
access
tools
small-craft
artisanal
global-unspecified
economics-resources
african
low
lack
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Artisanal mining, often for gold, frequently uses toxic mercury and lacks basic safety protections, harming both workers' health and nearby water systems. Making this widespread informal industry safer at scale remains an unresolved global challenge.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
artisanal
mining
safer
both
workers
haven
found
way
make
small-scale
philosophy-ethics
whether
mathematics-logic
resolved
open
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa
Develop systems that reduce child labor, conflict finance, and environmental harm while allowing artisanal miners to participate in formal markets.
climate-environment
africa
democratic-republic-of-the-congo
artisanal
miners
traceability
minerals
mines
excluding
develop
systems
reduce
child
society-governance
economics-resources
labor
governance
biometric
Create traceability systems that can document catch location, species, labor conditions, and gear use for artisanal fishers without requiring expensive onboard technology.
economics-resources
asia
indonesia
verifying
sustainable
fishing
claims
small-scale
fleets
create
traceability
systems
document
society-governance
labor
climate-environment
restoring
fisheries
open
Bolivia, South America
Develop accessible monitoring for silica dust exposure and early lung damage among artisanal miners and construction workers who lack occupational health coverage.
health-biology
south-america
bolivia
early
detection
silicosis
informal
mining
communities
develop
accessible
monitoring
silica
global-unspecified
health
whether
philosophy-ethics
environmental
