The Department of Forestry Science and Biodiversity (JSPB) is the first department formed during the establishment of Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia in 1971. Since its creation, JSPB or formerly known as Department of Forest Management (JPuH) served an important role in building human capital capable for managing forest and biodiversity resources in line with the National Forestry Act 1984. In its early phase, JSPB offered the Diploma course in Forestry and later added Bachelor of Forestry Science (BSH) with two major (forest management and wood industry) in 1987. In 1993, Department JSPB added the third major, Park Management and Recreation in fulfilment of the national forest policy.

The degree programme offered by JSPB was the first forestry degree programme in Malaysia and has been recognized as a professional degree by the Public Service Department of Malaysia (JPA). Since 2001 to 2012, JSPB has undergone considerable development that lead to the establishment of new departments under the Faculty of Forestry, namely Department of Natural Resource Industry and Department of Nature Parks and Recreation. With these changes, JSPB has offered specific elective packages on Forest Management, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Urban Forestry and Forest Plantations as the new curriculum structure under the BSH programme. On the 1st March 2020, Faculty of Forestry and Faculty of Environment was merged under UPM transformation plan 2020 and renamed as Faculty of Forestry and Environment. Under this new structure, JSPB is still maintained as a department that offered degrees in the field of forestry science. Department of Forestry Science and Biodiversity is the only department that offers degrees in forestry at all levels of tertiary education, including bachelor, master, and doctor of philosophy in Peninsular Malaysia.

Academic staffs in the department are well known experts from various research background that fulfil the needs for teaching and research in the field of forestry science. Currently, there are five (5) professor, six (6) associate professor and seven (7) senior lecturer with diverse research expertise such as biological conservation, hydrology, forest biotechnology, silviculture, plant physiology, soil science, entomology and pathology and forest economics. With its existing expertise, JSPB also conducts various research collaborations at the local and international levels. Research collaborations at the local level involve relevant agencies including the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia, the Wildlife Department of Peninsular Malaysia and the Forestry Research Institute of Malaysia. All these collaborative efforts are committed aimed at ensuring that the country's forest resources are managed sustainably. As for international research collaborations, JSPB is working on global forestry and environmental issues such as reforestation and involves international entities such as Mitsubishi Corporation. JSPB is also actively carrying out activities involving the local community, especially in sharing and transferring knowledge with its alumni in relevant agencies.