Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment(NIES), founded in 1978, is a national scientific research institution directly affiliated to the Ministry of Environmental Protection. It is also one of the pioneers that carried out scientific researches on environmental protection in China. Since its establishment, the institute maintained its main research direction in ecological protection and rural environment protection, and dedicated to prospective, strategic, fundamental and applied environmental studies. The research fields of NIES cover ecological protection and restoration, nature and biodiversity conservation, rural environment management, ecological effects of toxic and hazardous chemicals and pollution control, soil pollution prevention, ecological protection of watersheds and water pollution prevention, which includes twenty-one research divisions. Based on the relevant research experiences, NIES has carried out a wide range of technical consultation works on ecological environmental protection planning, organic product certification, agricultural chemicals environmental safety assessment, contaminated site remediation , environmental engineering and environmental impact assessment, etc.

The institute has more than 569 staff, among them more than 380 are scientific and technical personnel, including one member of Chinese Academy of Engineering. Among our staff, 94 hold senior professional titles, more than 94 have PhD degrees,11 have been admitted into the Jiangsu Provincial 333 Talents Project, and 12 received special government allowances of the State Council. A Post-Doctoral Research Station has been established in the Institute.

The institute covers an area of 2.12 hectares, with office/lab space of 15,000 square meters. It hosts three ministerial key laboratories including the Key Laboratory of Pesticide Environmental Assessment and Pollution Control, the Key Laboratory of Biosafety, and the Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Management and Pollution Control. It has been equipped with more than 1,000 sets of advanced equipment. At present, the institute is planning the construction of a new research park which covers an area of 3.3 hectares.

In the 30 years since its foundation, NIES has completed more than a thousand of major projects and published more than 1,200 influential research papers in domestic and international academic journals, as well as more than 100 monographs, and obtained more than 20 national invention and utility model patents. NIES has received more than 50 national, ministerial and provincial awards for scientific and technological progress. It also presided the drafting of over 50 national and industrial standards.

Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment (bimonthly), published by the Institute, is sponsored by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and co-sponsored by the Chinese Environmental Science Association. The academic influence of the Journal has been ranked among the highest in the journals of environmental protection in China.

The Institute has carried out a wide range of scientific research cooperation and personnel exchanges with more than 10 international organizations, such as the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, as well as with partners from more than 30 countries.

Since its foundation, the Institute has always followed the institute motto of "Cooperation, Dedication, Truth-seeking, Innovation". It has actively participated in major national and local scientific research projects, and has become an important force in the environmental science and technology sector of China. NIES continuously provides strong technical support for the decision making of national environmental management strategies, as well as comprehensive technical support and services for local ecological protection and pollution prevention.