People in Samoa are being encouraged to plant trees and grass to try and lessen the impact of tsunamis on coastal areas.
This was one idea raised at a conference this week at the Samoa National University which looked at lessons learned from last year's destructive tsunami which killed 143 people in Samoa.
The director of the university's Centre of Samoan Studies, Dr Fonoti Lafitai Iupati Fuatai, says a number of trees in the tsunami-devastated area saved the lives of people who clung to them.
And he says trees and grasses will also help combat erosion.
"It would help retaining the soil and minimising erosion. I think that's another role for trees. But I also think they should plant more grass cover. You know the perennial grasses that should go there."
The director of the Centre of Samoan Studies Dr Fonoti Lafitai Iupati Fuatai.
