International Technical Exchange

The National Park Service promotes and facilitates collaboration in preserving and understanding natural and cultural heritage throughout the world. From the establishment of the National Park Service, we have learned from and benefitted from the experiences of international counterparts.

Sharing expertise with visiting park, conservation and cultural heritage professionals, in addition to the National Park Service's overseas technical missions, demonstrates our broad commitment to global environmental and heritage conservation.

What international technical exchange does the National Park Service provide?

The National Park Service has wide ranging responsibilities as an agency and correspondingly diverse career fields and disciplines represented among its staff; expertise in all of these can be shared with international partners. Among the major areas in which the National Park Service exchanges best practices and lessons learned are the following:

• Natural and cultural resource management
• Environmental education and interpretation
• Visitor use management
• Park planning and facilities and infrastructure management
• Commercial services, including private concessions
• Community outreach and engagement

What benefits does the National Park Service get from exchanging best practices with international partners?

The highlight of many National Park Service staff’s career are the international engagements and assignments that they have participated in, and international counterparts they have met or hosted. Staff gain new perspectives and understanding that they are part of an interconnected global community.

What happens in one part of the world impact our parks, such as habitat for monarch butterflies. Helping with the creation of new national parks and park systems gives our staff great inspiration and a feeling of accomplishment.

Through a century of international engagement, the National Park Service has learned about multiple new approaches and skills from other countries:

• Visitor services
• Healthy Parks Healthy People
• Managing invasive species
• Ecological restoration
• Sustainable tourism
• Working with indigenous communities
• Developing a framework for biological inventory and monitoring
• Migratory species

With whom do we work?

• Foreign countries and counterparts to the National Park Service who seek our advice or wish to share their best practices
• International organizations who work on protected area and cultural heritage issues
• Universities and non-governmental organizations that support and train park and cultural heritage agencies

How do you accomplish your work and how is it funded?

Generally, we rely on outside donors to cover non-salary costs of staff when on assignment. Donors include:

• Other US government partners and donors, such as the US State Department and Department of Defense
• Major international multilateral organizations
• Foreign governments
• Academic organizations
• Corporate donors
• Non-profit organizations

How do interested parties request exchange opportunities with the National Park Service?

Contact the National Park Service’s Office of International Affairs to request assistance.