Developing countries often face seemingly impossible choices that pit protecting ecosystems against leveraging natural resources to fund economic growth. To assist communities in promoting the sustainable extraction and management of timber and non-timber resources, preserving biodiversity and habitat through the development of value chains and direct payments for carbon and other environmental services, thereby delivering tangible economic and social benefits while protecting the integrity of ecosystems. In this talk, I will address how soils information is critically needed to implement DAI's global goals.