FAO declared 2015 as the International Year of Soils, a balance of which is going to be promoted by Embrapa Soils (Rio de Janeiro, RJ) on December 08 (Tuesday), with the participation of national and international scientists and authorities who are committed to the topic. FAO, the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (Mapa) and the Federal Court of Audits (TCU) are some of the institutions that are going to be present. "I believe that a great contribution this year has brought was the demonstration of soil multifunctionality for the urban public", states Daniel Vidal Pérez, the general head of Embrapa Soils. "The soil is not only for soil productivity - it still is its main role -, it also influences climate change, human health and cultural heritage," the researcher concludes. A recent example of the importance of soil studies was the tragedy in the region of Mariana, MG. Researchers from Embrapa Soils went to the affected area to collect soil samples aimed at the agricultural rehabilitation of the terrain. An event which has marked the International Year of Soils was the conference on soil governance, which took place in March, in Brasília, DF. This conference resulted in guidelines for the National Program to Survey and Interpret Soils in Brazil (Pronasolos), which will gather a group of specialists on the topic to create instruments for soil governance in Brazil. During the event that starts on December 08, there will be debates on themes related to the soil, such legislation, management, conservation and state of the art. In addition, the books "Sistema de produção mecanizada da cana-de-açúcar integrada à produção de energia e alimentos" [Mechanized sugarcane production system integrated with energy and food production], "Solos Frágeis" [Fragile soils] (e-book) and "Manual de Pedologia" [Manual of Soil Science], and a special edition of the Brazilian Journal of Agricultural Research (Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira -PAB) on soils will be launched. Seminar "Balance of the International Year of Soils" December 08 (Tuesday), at 8h30 Embrapa Soils Auditorium - Jardim Botânico Street, 1024 - Jardim Botânico - Rio de Janeiro – RJ Schedule 8h30 - Welcome - Embrapa's Board of Directors 9h - Opening - Legislation about the importance of soils - Aroldo Cedraz, TCU Minister 10h - Soil Governance, Management and Conservation - Caio Rocha - Secretary of Agricultural Development and Cooperativism of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (Mapa) 10h50 - Coffee Break 11h10 - Intergovernmental panel on soils - Report on the state of the art of soils in the world - Maria de Lourdes Mendonça, Embrapa Soils researcher 12h - Pronasolos Presentation - José Carlos Polidoro, Chefe-adjunto de P&D Embrapa Solos 12h50 - Pre-launch of the special edition of PAB, with the theme: "Soils as source of integration between environmental components and agricultural production" - Emilson França de Queiroz, chief editor of PAB 13h50 - Closing - Launch of the Report on the state of the art of soils in the world- Alan Bojanic, FAO Representative for Brazil 14h40 – Brunch - Book launch: "Sistema de produção mecanizada da cana-de-açúcar integrada à produção de energia e alimentos" [Mechanized sugarcane production system integrated with energy and food production], "Solos Frágeis" [Fragile soils] (e-book) and "Manual de Pedologia" [Manual of Soil Science]