SMU Associate Professor of Science, Technology and Society Winston Chow, who contributed to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, explained why Singapore should not rely on a single adaptation strategy – such as building sea walls. While sea walls effectively reduce impacts on people and assets in the short term, they are fixed investments with fixed costs and reduce space for natural habitats that can potentially provide ecosystem services for adaptation, noted Assoc Prof Chow. For example, mangroves are considered a natural defence against sea-level rise because the ability of their roots to trap sediment from the tides enables them to keep pace with rising tides.