The Institute was established in 1966 as a game scouts training centre. By then, the name of the Institute was Natural Resources Institute (NRI). The overall objective of establishing NRI was to provide training to game scouts for the then Department of Game. Up to mid 1970’s, the basic roles of game scouts were to control problem animals and undertake anti poaching activities. The responsibilities of a game scout kept on changing in line with the changing objectives of wildlife conservation in Tanzania.