Editor's Note: A series of major events – the Two Sessions and the Boao Forum for Asia – held in China have been under the spotlight. Among all topics discussed, environmental protection is one of the most important ones. Climate change, ocean pollution, plastic pollution, food waste... We are experiencing these environmental problems. Which ones are the most concerning over the past year? Christine Figgener, a marine biologist, shares her thoughts.

Every day, up to 150 species are lost. These creatures, like us, once lived on this planet, but for various reasons, they left us.

"When you think about extinction, you think about something that happens in a really long time span, but it is so rapid. It will happen in my lifetime," said Christine Figgener, a marine biologist working on sea turtle conservation. A few years back, she posted a video of her pulling a plastic straw out of the nostril of a sea turtle. The video attracted much attention online.

The leatherback turtles she focuses on have three big clusters in the three ocean basins: Indo-Pacific, Atlantic and Pacific. However, the population is almost extinct in the Indo-Pacific and the Pacific and the species is likely to disappear in the next decade. What happened to this species? What existential threats do they face? Check out the video for more.

(Cover image designed by CGTN's Li Wenyi; Video edited by CGTN's Chen Chen)

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at nature@cgtn.com.)