NPS Mission - National Park Service

National Park Service FY 2013 Budget Justifications
• International Visitors: OIA serves as the initial NPS point of contact for official international
visitors who wish to interact directly with Service professionals to learn about various elements of
park management in the United States. On average, OIA handles more than 200 official
international visitors from as many as seventy countries each year through the State
Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and another 150-200 come from
China alone. Most foreign delegations often begin by visiting NPS’ Washington office then travel
to one or more NPS units.
Find more information online about the International Affairs Program at http://www.nps.gov/oia.
FY 2013 Program Performance
Consistent with the Director’s interest in reinvigorating the Service’s role in the international arena, OIA
would undertake a variety of activities to enhance NPS’ international reach, including seeking additional
legislative authorization of NPS international partnerships. The program would also identify opportunities
for the Service to be more actively engaged in international initiatives involving, among others, climate
change, marine protected areas, and migratory species.
OIA would continue to coordinate various initiatives along the Nation’s borders, including the potential
development of joint activities with Mexico on the Rio Grande between Big Bend National Park and
Mexican protected areas on the opposite bank of the river.
OIA would continue to play a very active role in supporting the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife
and Parks as co-head of the U.S. observer delegation to the World Heritage Committee. This would
include participating in the Committee's 37th Session as well as on working groups and expert meetings
throughout the year. In FY 2013, OIA would also continue to oversee the process of selecting and
developing one or two nominations of U.S. sites for the World Heritage List. OIA would work with the
owners of these sites and proponents of their designation to ensure the nomination dossiers are prepared
to the highest standard to ensure successful inscription when considered by the World Heritage
Committee.
OIA continues to actively seek and develop partnerships with other Federal agencies, multilateral donor
organizations, and Non-Governmental Organizations to support NPS international work. The vast majority
of international work conducted by NPS employees is funded by outside sources, and OIA would continue
to seek partnerships as a key priority.
Where outside funding is available, OIA would continue to develop technical assistance and exchange
programs with key partners, including Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, China, Jordan, Chile, and other
nations. This assistance will include in-country training, study tours in the United States, participation in
the International Volunteers in Parks program, the development of “sister parks” and other initiatives of
mutual benefit. OIA would look in particular to develop focused international activities that further the
protection of park resources, including shared migratory species.
OIA would continue to closely monitor and evaluate NPS international travel, ensuring such travel is
consistent with the NPS mission and Service priorities, is cost-effective, and results in tangible benefits to
both the Service’s international partners and the NPS itself.
As in previous years, OIA would continue to play an important liaison role between the Service and the
international conservation community, including key organizations such as the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – the World Conservation Union, to ensure that the NPS keeps abreast of
new global developments and issues. OIA would continue, as well, to coordinate official international
visitors to the NPS, provide information and assistance to NPS employees on international issues, and
serve as NPS liaison with other federal agencies, particularly the State Department, on international park
matters. OIA would continue to detail an employee to IUCN through the 6 th World Park Congress in 2014.
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