Sustainability valuable in marine economy

Writer: Lin Lin  | Editor: Vincent Lin  | From: Shenzhen Daily | Updated: 2019-10-17

Gilles Lericolais

Gilles Lericolais, director of the European and International Affairs of IFREMER, a French research institute on ocean exploration, thinks it’s important for Shenzhen to consider how to develop its marine economy in a sustainable way.

“For more cost-effective development, Shenzhen should also work with other Chinese marine cities such as Qingdao and Shanghai, as these cities share similar development models, and if they bring all their efforts together, their power will be great,” said Lericolais.

With an academic background in marine geology, Lericolais attended the 2019 China Marine Economy Expo to advocate the role of science in sustainable development. He said that problems such as rising temperatures are worrying scientists regarding the preservation of oceans, and China is also very concerned with such issues.

“It’s a huge country ready to be involved in the understanding (of preserving the oceans), pushing investment for scientific research in order to preserve the oceans,” said Lericolais.

He’s also impressed by President Xi Jinping’s words delivered at the opening session of the expo, which stressed the environmental and ecological protection of the oceans and the notion of preserving a blue ocean and a blue sky for the next generation.

“This is a very good message that we also support and would like to deliver,” said Lericolais.