The International Environment Institute (IEI) was founded in 1987 and, for many years, operated within the framework of the Foundation for International Studies in Valletta, where it initially focused on matters concerning the rights of future generations.  Subsequently, a Mediterranean-wide programme was set up, relating to human resource capacity building in aspects of environmental management.  In the early nineties, the need to enhance local specialist capacity in various fields of environmental management was strongly felt. Thus, in 1993, the Institute became a conjoint entity of the Foundation and the University of Malta with a mandate to run interdisciplinary diploma and postgraduate degree courses, in addition to its on-going programmes of training and research. Following a streamlining exercise in 2007, during which it institutionally ceased to form part of the Foundation for International Studies, the Institute migrated to the main Msida campus, where its resources are more accessible to the student body. In 2008, the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Insular Coastal Dynamics (ICoD) was incorporated within the Institute.

More than twenty years after its establishment, the Institute still regards human resource capacity building as its raison d''etre, and works towards training specialists in various aspects of environmental science, environmental and natural resource management, and integrated planning. In this regard, the Institute runs interdisciplinary courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and several graduates of the Institute now have prominent professional careers in the environment and planning sectors, both locally and internationally. The Institute also provides training for continuing professional development through periodic short courses, seminars, and workshops, both in Malta and overseas.

The Institute also has a strong track record in international research, particularly but not exclusively in the Mediterranean region. Drawing on its network of research associates, the Institute has been a partner in various research projects, focusing on themes such as coastal management, biodiversity conservation, stakeholder participation in environmental management, environmental assessment, landscape ecology, and sustainability, amongst others. As a result of such projects, the Institute maintains close links with several foreign universities and international organizations, enabling collaboration and exchanges for the mutual benefit of partners. The Institute''s participation in research further serves to ensure that its capacity building mission is suitably adapted and tailored for application in real-world situations in a variety of contexts, as well as providing opportunities to students for hands-on work experience in the international arena.