A necessary starting point to achieve the objective of preserving soil resources is to reach an adequate level of knowledge on their status and to raise awareness on their importance (UNEP, 2007; Sanchez et al., 2009; Palm et al., 2010; Sachs et al., 2010). In order to improve communication and to raise soil awareness of the public at large, stakeholders, policy makers, and other scientists to the importance of soil in Latin America, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission is producing the first ever Soil Atlas of Latin America and Caribbean (LAC).

The Atlas brings together existing information on different soil types as easily understandable maps (both at regional and continental scale) covering the continents.The Soil Atlas of LAC illustrates the diversity of soils from the humid tropics to the arid deserts through a series of maps supported by explanatory texts, high quality photographs and descriptive graphics. Supporting texts describe the major soil types, together with their principal characteristics and the main soil forming processes. This Atlas, as one of the outcomes of EUROCLIMA programme, will have a strong emphasis on climate change.

The soil maps presented in the Atlas are based on the Soterlac 1:5,000,000 database, that will be updated and validated on the base of the information provided by the LAC countries. Soils will be discussed both at a regional scale, on the base of Ecozones, and at from a national perspective. A specific section will be devoted to integrating indigenous and scientific knowledge on soils (ethnopodology).

Together with the publication of the Atlas, the soil map and associated datasets on soil characteristics will be made freely available. These datasets will be useful for making broad distinction among soil types and provide general trends at the global and regional scales. The datasets will be made accessible for free downloading from the portals of the SOIL Action (http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/) The format of the Atlas will allows an accessible, user-friendly approach avoiding the more traditional focus on soil classification and soil survey interpretation. Furthermore other products aimed to raise awareness on soil, have also been produced, such as the Soil Calendar of Latin America and Caribbean (2012).

The Atlas links the theme of soil with rural development and, at the same time, supports the goals of the EU Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection in conserving a threatened natural resource that is vital to human existence.

Not only climate change, but also desertification and loss of biodiversity are strongly affecting soils globally, making the “Soil Atlas of Latin America” relevant to a much larger community of stakeholders involved in the implementation of the three “Rio-Conventions” and allowing possible synergies among international multilateral agreements towards global soil protection to be explored.