Office of International Affairs: What We Do

Chris Stein (from Yosemite National Park) visiting their Sister Park in China, Huangshan National Park

NPS Photo

“The Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.” (From the National Park Service’s mission statement)

While many are familiar with the National Park Service’s work to preserve and help visitors enjoy the units of the National Park System, fewer realize that our mission also includes the promotion of conservation and recreation outside these units, both throughout the U.S. and indeed across the world.

For over a century, the National Park Service has worked and collaborated with many countries and partners to increase environmental and cultural awareness throughout the world. Because national parks around the world are linked together in many ways and often face similar challenges, we can learn from each other’s experiences while protecting shared heritage.

The creation of national parks has been described as "America's best idea," and the concept has spread world-wide since the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, becoming one of the U.S.’s most important global “exports.” In the last century, nearly every country on Earth has worked with the National Park Service on issues of shared concern or interest. In 1962, at the direction of Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, the bureau created the Office of International Affairs, the first federal initiative focused on international conservation. The Office of International Affairs’ role is to help the National Park Service as a whole advance the international component of its service-wide mission.

Who are we?

The office works out of the National Park Service’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., and it currently consists of a small group of six people. Office of International Affairs works with the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and many other partners to share expertise with and learn from other countries on park management, historic preservation, recreation, and much more

What do we do?

The office helps manage a great variety of national and international programs. Through this work, Office of International Affairs advances the National Park Service mission to “extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout the country and the world.”

International cooperation is more important than ever to fulfilling the National Park Service mission. Our nation’s natural and cultural heritage is directly connected to the rest of the world, from migratory species to air pollution and other environmental issues to historic sites and practices with roots in other nations, and the global scope of preservation technology.

Sister Park signing ceremony between Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and Norway’s West Norwegian Fjords World Heritage Site

NPS Photo

“Sister Parks”

One way the office helps address common issues across the world is with the Sister Parks Program. Dozens of NPS units have developed formal “Sister Park” partnerships with parks in other countries.

When parks establish sister park arrangements, the two can begin sharing information and research on how to protect their resources and learn from each other. They can join forces to address common issues, such as non-native invasive species, climate change, air pollution, loss of biodiversity, visitor management, interpretation, and more.

Last year, Glacier National Park in Montana, and Killarney National Park in County Kerry, Ireland, became sister parks. The parks have common issues including heavy visitation, controlling exotic and invasive species, outreach with local communities and ecological monitoring. With this new partnership, the parks will start sharing best practices through the exchange of technical and professional knowledge, data, technology, training, and possible site visits.

Many parks partner with parks across the world that have similar resources, ecosystems, ongoing research, or activities. For example, White Sands National Park has a sister park in Mexico: el Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna Cuatrociénegas. Even though they are hundreds of miles apart, both parks are similar because they are in basins surrounded by mountains and Cuatrociénegas also contains a small gypsum dune field, created by the same geologic processes as those at White Sands. Both parks are part of the Great Chihauhan Desert ecosystem.

Stan Bond met with rangers at Kruger National Park to discuss preservation and interpretation of Thulamela, a stone-wall site that was once a thriving community during the Iron Age

U.S. Department of State

Technical Assistance and Exchange

The National Park Service is regularly asked for assistance and advice from other countries, either directly from a foreign government, or from another organization such as the World Bank, World Wildlife Fund, etc. The Office of International Affairs evaluates these requests, and its primary role is to identify the National Park Service programs and individuals with the appropriate skills and experience to respond to international technical assistance requests. There are far fewer opportunities than the many employees of National Park Service who might be interested in such work.

One example of such assistance is the visit in 2019 by the then chief archeologist of the National Park Service, Stan Bond, to South Africa to share experiences, exchange ideas, and strengthen the partnership between the two countries by focusing on conservation and cultural heritage preservation at a global level. The trip was filled with visits to breathtaking national parks, presentations and lectures, and the opportunity of gaining a new perspective from another country.

While the National Park Service has assisted other countries, we have also received assistance and advice from our partners in other countries. For example, our partners in Mexico have helped us with techniques for the preservation of historic adobe buildings, which are found throughout the Southwest. A collaboration with the German Archaeological Institute enabled Hopewell Culture National Historic Park to conduct geomagnetic surveys that revealed the precise locations of ancient earthwork structures and helped support a nomination to the World Heritage List.

Mammoth Cave National Park is a World Heritage Site

NPS Photo/Ashley Decker

Shared Global Heritage

There are sites worldwide of outstanding natural and cultural significance. The most important designation to recognize such global importance is World Heritage. Currently, 19 units of the National Park System are included on the World Heritage List (out of 24 U.S. sites in total). They are a heritage Americans share with the world. With over 1,100 properties, the World Heritage List shows a shared global commitment to preserve the world’s most important natural and cultural sites.

The Assistant Secretary for U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Parks, with staff assistance from Office of International Affairs, and in coordination with the U.S. State Department, is responsible for implementing the World Heritage Convention in the U.S., including the development of World Heritage nominations.

Bernard Ngoru (left) from Mount Kenya National Park (Kenya) was a World Heritage Fellow at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

NPS Photo

Welcoming International Volunteers

The Office is also in charge of coordinating international volunteer opportunities. The International Volunteers in Parks Program (IVIP) is for college or university students from other countries, who work for another country's park agency, or have a background in environmental or cultural fields. Professionals in park management and cultural heritage preservation are also eligible to participate in the program.

Annually, approximately 100 “IVIPs”, from 35 to 40 countries, live and train in some 50 national parks, Inventory & Monitoring Networks, and offices. At no cost to the Service, other than housing, IVIPs volunteer their time and talents in exchange for practical field experience to further their careers. These students and professionals offer parks new perspectives on resource challenges, while learning new skills to take home and share with their fellow students and colleagues.

Liaison Between NPS and the International Conservation Community

Global conservation remains an essential part of the National Park Service mission. We need to make sure that we are working with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation not just here, but throughout the world. Our national parks share many migratory species with other countries and cultural links with sites and places around the globe, working internationally helps us ensure these species and the special ties are maintained.

Global initiatives, including the World Heritage Convention, and organizations such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and many more can all benefit the National Park Service and its employees providing new ideas to address the shared challenges we face in the parks and preservation community. The Office of International Affairs works as a liaison between the National Park Service and the international community working to protect natural, cultural, historical, and recreational resources.

Learn more about the Office of International Affairs and about what the National Park Service is doing around the world.