The Institute is created by Presidium of Siberian department of the Academy of Science USSR on the 4th August in 1981 in accordance with Resolution of the State Committee USSR on science and technology from 18th May 1981. On the grounds of Resolutions of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Science №320 from the 25th November 2003 the Chita Institute of the Natural Resource of Siberian department of the Academy of Science was renamed to the Institute of natural resources, ecology and cryology of Siberian department of the Russian Academy of Science (INREC SD RAS). The laboratory of carpology IMZ SD RAS and department CSBS Zabaykaliskiy botanical garden are included in the Institute.

The Scientists of the Institute carry out complex researches on territorial organization of region facility of source type, quality and level of living of population, on study of the conditions of education and regularities of the accomodation of mineral raw material; the landscape, geophysical and geochemical features of geosystems of the zone of perennial frozen earth; operation, productivity and track record of the biological variety of overland and water ecological systems; on development of bases for optimization of the natural use, scientific motivation of the ecological framework - a network of protected territories.

More than 100 persons work in the Institute: 43 scientific employees, including 7 doctors of the sciences, 19 candidates of the sciences, and 28 graduate students studying in day-tripper. Two scientific permanent establishments function in the Institute: the timber Ingodinskiy permanent establishment and the complex Arahleyskiy permanent establishment, which have got status ‘’International biological station’’ in 1997. The main scientific directions of the Institute:

• geosystem analysis - a study of the genesis, condition, evolution and stability geological, geographical, ecological and social systems, both in fundamental, and in applied aspects;
• the optimization of the natural use - a development economy-geographical, social and the other questions of the natural use;
• the protection of the nature - an estimation of anthropogenous influences on natural ambience, monitoring researches, development of structure of the ecological framework.

The Institute is situated in the centre of the East Zabaykaliya in Chita. Chita region occupies the territory about 431,5 sq km, in the south it borders China and Mongolia, in the west and northwest - Republic Buryatiya and Irkutsk region, in the northeast - Republic Saha (Yakutiya), in the east - Amurskaya region. Geographical and geological position of the Zabaykalie is unique. The Central-Asiatic mega watershed passes here, separating water pools of the North and the Pacific oceans, here the headwaters of the largest rivers of Siberia border - the Lena, the Enisey and the Amur. The Geological position in zone of the joint Siberian and Chinese platforms provides the wealth of deposits of color, rare and precious metals, uranus, fluorspar, coal, mineral water. The variety of the relief and landscapes defines the wealth of the organic world. The important biosources of the Zabaykalie are its woods, containing much valuable sorts. Zabaykalie is an unique model firing range for complex biospherical and ecological researches. Namely it defined thematic directivity of the institute.