History - Agency of Rural Development and Soil and Water Conservation, MOA

Soil and water conservation began with the China Rural Reviving United Committee in 1952. Its main work was the training of cadres in soil and water conservation technology and the demonstration of soil and water conservation.

In 1955, the Agriculture and Forestry Division set up the “Land-use Task Force”, which coached and helped the county and important reservoir management agencies to set up the engineering office of soil and water conservation, and actively promoted erosion control and prevention projects.

In 1961, the Mountain Agricultural Resources Development Bureau (MARDB) set up an office in Nantou County. This Bureau supervised and demonstrated soil and water conservation, and coached animal husbandry and slopeland overuse management. 

In 1989, the MARDB was restructured to become today’s Soil and Water Conservation Bureau (SWCB), with the main tasks of soil and water conservation, watershed management, and erosion control. 

In 1999, the SWCB was placed under the jurisdiction of the Council of Agriculture (COA), Executive Yuan.

In 2002, the Bureau organization went for additional adjustment with four divisions being identified. They were: planning, slopeland conservation, watershed protection and monitoring , and control divisions. The SWCB also has four administrative offices and six engineering offices in Taiwan.

In 2007, SWCB set up Debris Flow Disaster Prevention Center, and next year restructured six engineering offices to branch.

In 2023, the Council of Agriculture was elevated to the status of the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau (SWCB) was upgraded to the Agency of Rural Development and Soil and Water Conservation (ARDSWC). Currently, ARDSWC consists of six divisions, four administrative offices, and six branches.