The College of Natural Resources and Environment was established in 1996 by combining the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Science, and the Department of Plant Protection. In Jan 2015, the college was rearranged due to the adjustment of college structure in South China Agricultural University. The newly arranged College of Natural Resources and Environment consists of 6 departments which are the Department of Soil Science, the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, the Department of Ecology, the Department of plant nutrition, the Department of Geographic Information, and the Department of Survey and Remote Sensing.There are 139 staffs in the college. Among them 26 are professors or researchers, 62 are associate professors or research associates. 73% of them have got their Ph.D. degree. There are 1787 students including 323 graduate students in the college.

The college offers Ph.D. Degree in Agricultural Resources & Environment and in Ecology, Master's Degrees in Agricultural Resources & Environment, Ecology, Environmental Science & Engineering, Cartology and Geographic Information System. Post-doctoral research opportunities in Utilization of Agricultural Resources and in Ecology are available. The school offers Bachelor's Degrees in the six majors which are Ecology, Resources and Environmental Science, Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Geographic Information System, and Surveying Engineering.

The college has established several important platforms for science and technology innovation. For example, there are the Key Laboratory of South China Farm land Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture, China; the Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Environment in the Tropics, Ministry of Agriculture, China; the Key Laboratory of Land Use and Regulation, Guangdong Province, China; and the Key Laboratory of Redevelopment of Construction Land, Ministry of Land and Resources, China .

The research focuses in the college include ecological agriculture and circulation agriculture, ecological security of genetically modified crops, prevention and control of biological invasion, industrial and agricultural waste recycling use, pollution control and restoration of soil and water resources, soil improvement, biological fertilizer, land information engineering and integrated management, regional land planning and ecology planning.

Leadership: