IIFM is a young and vibrant autonomous educational Institute funded by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. Located in one of the most scenic campuses on top of a hill in the beautiful central Indian city of Bhopal, IIFM has excellent infrastructure and facilities to carry out its teaching and research programs.

IIFM was established in 1982 in response to the growing need for managerial human power and development of managerial capacity in the forestry and allied sectors. Since its establishment, IIFM has emerged as a premier educational Institute in the area of Forest Management in India and Southeast Asia. IIFM has also been successful in getting considerable global recognition for its educational and research programmes.

The Institute is headed by the Director and has 25 full time faculty members who constitute a highly motivated multi-disciplinary team.

IIFM is a premier national level institute engaged in education, research, training and consultancy in the area of Forest, Environment and Natural Resources Management and allied sectors. The institute is ranked 8th overall in the country by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India in the management institutions category under the National Institutional Ranking Framework in its India Rankings 2016. As a campus IIFM is famous for its rich flora and fauna with sightings of various wild mammals and birds within the campus.

The institute's objective is to fulfill the growing need for the managerial human resource in the area of Forest, Environment, and Natural resources Management and allied sectors. The institute is headed by a director selected and appointed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India.