"Samoans have exploited the forests for centuries, but always in an environmentally sound way.... But because of changes in culture and values, the species of the rainforest have slowly been forgotten, as children no longer venture into the forest with their fathers to learn the names and uses of the trees. Samoans have been the keepers of this knowledge and these plants for close to three millennia, but today the trees and the people have become strangers to each other. ... This rapid demise of the native forests and the knowledge of native trees have prompted me to write this book."
