USNPS International Affairs

09/28/2021

NPSOIA continues to support the USAID/USDOI-ITAP National Parks and Eco-Tourism Program, and our USDOI-ITAP colleague and in-country coordinator, Paata Shanshiashvili, who delivered a training course on Fundamentals of Protected Areas Integrated Governance and Management to representatives of the #GeorgiaNationalTourismAdministration and five Destination Management Organizations. Successful participants of the 7-module course were awarded certificates at a ceremony in the Historic #unescoworldheritagesite of Mtskheta, the gateway to #TbilisiNationalPark. Only fully vaccinated participants attended the in-person event.

NPSOIA continues to support the USAID/USDOI-ITAP National Parks and Eco-Tourism Program, and our USDOI-ITAP colleague and in-country coordinator, Paata Shanshiashvili, who delivered a training course on Fundamentals of Protected Areas Integrated Governance and Management to representatives of the #GeorgiaNationalTourismAdministration and five Destination Management Organizations. Successful participants of the 7-module course were awarded certificates at a ceremony in the Historic #unescoworldheritagesite of Mtskheta, the gateway to #TbilisiNationalPark. Only fully vaccinated participants attended the in-person event.

09/27/2021

Our very own Phyllis Ellin attended the dedication of a plaque recognizing the #FrankLloydWright-designed #UnityTemple as a #WorldHeritageSite over the weekend. Phyllis and NPSOIA worked closely with #UnityTempleRestorationFoundation staff on the nomination and designation process.

Our very own Phyllis Ellin attended the dedication of a plaque recognizing the #FrankLloydWright-designed #UnityTemple as a #WorldHeritageSite over the weekend. Phyllis and NPSOIA worked closely with #UnityTempleRestorationFoundation staff on the nomination and designation process.

09/24/2021

Overtourism in the COP26 era: Should travel be only for the rich?

There's a lot of attention lately to the need for 'sustainable tourism,' especially trenchant when #yellowstonenationalpark hosted one million visitors for the first time - in one month - this summer - https://www.railway-technology.com/features/overtourism-and-sustainability-in-the-post-covid-cop26-era-should-travel-be-only-for-the-rich/

The world may be ever so slowly reopening after Covid, but the familiar scourge of overtourism is back to haunt the travel sector.

09/23/2021

DOI International Technical Assistance Program and our office are hosting today a presentation by former U.S. National Park Service Director Jonathon Jarvis on sustainable park financing, as part of the #USAIDGeorgia National Parks and Ecotourism program. Representatives from various Georgian Governmental, NGO and DMO entities are participating.

09/22/2021

An intriguing rationale for the role of national parks - https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/national-parks/norway-adding-10-new-national-parks

An intriguing rationale for the role of national parks - https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/national-parks/norway-adding-10-new-national-parks

09/21/2021

Stabilized Notre-Dame Cathedral Is on Track for 2024 Reopening, Officials Say

NPS is following restoration efforts at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris closely after our participation in a truss building project earlier this summer - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/18/world/europe/notre-dame-cathedral-restoration.html?smid=url-share

The restoration effort is seeking to meet President Emmanuel Macron’s ambitious plan to reopen the cathedral five years after it was ravaged by a fire — just in time for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

09/20/2021

This morning, NPSOIA participated in the U.S.-Pakistan Climate and Environment Working Group meeting convened by the #USEmbassyIslamabad to hear about Pakistan's ambitions to expand its protected area system and discuss how the #usnps can share its lessons learned. Pakistani Climate Minister Malik Amin Aslam gave opening remarks to the Working Group.

This morning, NPSOIA participated in the U.S.-Pakistan Climate and Environment Working Group meeting convened by the #USEmbassyIslamabad to hear about Pakistan's ambitions to expand its protected area system and discuss how the #usnps can share its lessons learned. Pakistani Climate Minister Malik Amin Aslam gave opening remarks to the Working Group.

09/17/2021

Bethlehem’s effort to become a World Heritage site moves another step closer to reality: ‘It’s going to put us on the map’

More coverage of this week's meetings about the effort to put forward a serial World Heritage nomination of Moravian Bethlehem sites, including those in the U.S. - https://www.mcall.com/news/local/bethlehem/mc-nws-bethlehem-world-heritage-status-update-20210915-g6m4m7izfzaznm522qgd7sdjau-story.html

Bethlehem officials marked another step Wednesday in their effort to achieve world heritage designation for a major part of the city.

09/16/2021

How Does Civil Society Protect World Heritage in a World Facing Growing Authoritarianism?

Analysis and interesting perspective of the recent World Heritage Committee meetings by the DC-based thinktank, CSIS | Center for Strategic & International Studies - https://www.csis.org/analysis/how-does-civil-society-protect-world-heritage-world-facing-growing-authoritarianism

UNESCO’s 44th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) came together for its annual meeting in the last two weeks of July. Having been canceled last year because of Covid-19, the conference was extended from the usual 10 to 14 days. The ongoing pandemic, however, required that only a small re...

09/15/2021

Two staff from our office are in Bethlehem, PA this week for meetings with local and global officials working on a serial #worldheritagesites nomination for Historic Moravian Sites - https://historicbethlehem.org/historic-moravian-bethlehem-a-world-heritage-site/

Two staff from our office are in Bethlehem, PA this week for meetings with local and global officials working on a serial #worldheritagesites nomination for Historic Moravian Sites - https://historicbethlehem.org/historic-moravian-bethlehem-a-world-heritage-site/

09/14/2021

How people-powered conservation is helping to revive the UK's national parks

Volunteers are the backbone of any successful national park system, here in the U.S. as in the U.K. - https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel/2021/09/how-people-powered-conservation-is-helping-to-revive-the-uks-national-parks

Seventy years since the UK’s first national parks were created, they’re receiving more visitors than ever. But with rising tourist footfall and declining biodiversity, hands-on help to preserve our parks is vital.

09/13/2021

World Heritage Festival > HOME

The City of #SanAntonio just completed a week+ #worldheritagesa festival to celebrate the 6th anniversary of its designation as a #UNESCOWorldHeritage Site - https://worldheritagefestival.org

Join the City of San Antonio World Heritage Office for the 6th Annual World Heritage Festival, September 8-12, 2021! The World Heritage Festival is an annual collaborative event to celebrate and promote the San Antonio Missions, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and raise funds to preserve, promote, and...

09/10/2021

What Historic Sites Are Doing to Protect Their UNESCO World Heritage Status

An interesting article about creative strategies by World Heritage Sites to preserve their historic areas - https://www.cntraveler.com/story/what-historic-sites-are-doing-to-protect-their-unesco-world-heritage-status

From Machu Picchu to the Acropolis of Athens, conservationists are creatively combatting overtourism, climate change, and more.

09/09/2021

In Turkey, a Watery Grave Becomes a Park

An interesting new underwater marine park has recently been established by Turkey - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/08/travel/gallipoli-turkey-WWI-park.html?smid=url-share

Off the Gallipoli Peninsula, the remains of some two dozen British, French and Australian ships — World War I relics — are memorialized in an undersea park formed during the pandemic.

09/08/2021

IUCN Members elect new leadership

We are tracking the World Conservation #IUCNcongress occuring this week and welcome new #IUCN leadership - https://www.iucncongress2020.org/newsroom/all-news/iucn-members-elect-new-leadership

Today, 8 September 2021, Members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) elected Razan Al Mubarak as the new IUCN President at the ongoing World Conservation Congress in Marseille. IUCN Members also elected the Treasurer, Commission Chairs and Regional Councillors across eight g...

09/07/2021

China vows to curb urban demolitions, preserve cultural heritage

Kudos for setting a good example for heritage preservationists in all nations to emulate - https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-vows-curb-urban-demolitions-preserve-cultural-heritage-2021-09-04/

China will put an end to large-scale urban demolitions and preserve old historical buildings as part of a programme to protect its cultural heritage, it said in new policy guidelines published late on Friday.

09/03/2021

City of San Antonio announces 2021 World Heritage Festival events

Our partners in the city of #sanantoniotx will host their 6th annual #WorldHeritageFestival next week, featuring our #sanantoniomissions National Historical Park, the only #worldheritagesites in Texas - https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021/08/27/watch-live-city-of-san-antonio-announce-2021-world-heritage-festival-events/

The City of San Antonio and its partners on Friday will announce events for the 2021 World Heritage Festival.

09/02/2021

The Żubr beer brand helps buy land for Biebrza National Park in Poland to protect endangered species

#biebrzanationalpark in #poland has a partnership with Zubr ('bison') beer company to raise funds to buy land for further endangered species conservation -
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-ubr-beer-brand-helps-buy-land-for-biebrza-national-park-in-poland-to-protect-endangered-species-301362433.html

/PRNewswire/ -- Poland's largest national park, the Biebrza National Park is a natural treasure on the map of Europe and one of the last valleys in Europe not...

09/01/2021

Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Travelers Are Going to Different Sets of Caribbean Islands

As the global pandemic continues to impact visitation to protected areas, the vaccination policies of sites are becoming important - https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/business/money-report/vaccinated-and-unvaccinated-travelers-are-going-to-different-sets-of-caribbean-islands/2788029/?fbclid=IwAR0eCPQo6Oq3riU_IdgdHpXQ9oA3LxRjDq3ijlRdR4SbbTHOc8o1KjBiztA

Unvaccinated travelers are gravitating to Caribbean islands that will let them in, while the vaccinated want places that keep the unimmunized out.

08/31/2021

The Superintendent of #baikalnaturereserve was recently in town and shared these souvenirs and tourist map from his park. Chocolate is the new hiking pin... : )

The Superintendent of #baikalnaturereserve was recently in town and shared these souvenirs and tourist map from his park. Chocolate is the new hiking pin... : )

08/30/2021

Sustainable livelihood offers a lifeline to Philippines’ dying rice terraces

As conditions at #worldheritagesites like the Philippine's rice terraces change, there are alternatives to those who depend upon them for their livelihood - https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/sustainable-livelihood-offers-a-lifeline-to-philippines-dying-rice-terraces/

IFUGAO, Philippines — Aided by a pair of glasses and a traditional short, curved dagger, 69-year-old farmer Rosita Gano harvests rice grains, one stalk after another, using only one hand, a passed-on skill she has mastered through decades of practice. The harvest from the cluster of rice terraces ...

08/27/2021

China unveils plan to plant more trees and expand national parks

A brief update on China's progress towards establishing a protected area network - https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3145855/china-unveils-plan-plant-more-trees-and-expand-national-parks?module=perpetual_scroll&pgtype=article&campaign=3145855

Country aims to increase forest coverage rate over the next four years to 24.1 per cent in bid to improve health of ecosystem.

08/25/2021

Texas's Big Bend Could Soon Be the Largest Dark Sky Reserve in the World

On our 105th birthday as a federal government agency protecting America's national parks, here's a reminder that our parks also have an international aspect - https://www.cntraveler.com/story/texass-big-bend-could-soon-be-the-largest-dark-sky-reserve-in-the-world

Should the region’s International Dark Sky Reserve application be approved, at over 9.8 million square acres, it would be nearly larger than the existing 18 international reserves combined.

08/23/2021

National Parks: An Architectural Journey

An article postulates that "The architecture of national parks around the world – pioneered in a way by the ‘rustic’ architecture of American National Parks, provides an interesting framework to help us understand the age-old question of building in harmony with the natural world. " https://www.archdaily.com/966832/national-parks-an-architectural-journey

The architecture of national parks around the world, with a focus on the national parks of the US and how the priority is to blend in with the environment.

08/20/2021

France battles illegal drone flights in beloved national parks

Illegal drone flights have been and continue to be a challenge for our, as well as for many other, national park systems - https://dronedj.com/2021/08/16/france-battles-illegal-drone-flights-in-beloved-national-parks/

Visitation is up at France's national parks, and so is the determination to halt illegal drone flights that threaten wildlife.

08/18/2021

#UNSECO has issued a new report, Visitors Count! that we bring to everyone's attention
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000378568?posInSet=1&queryId=04dc875b-f9c1-4f60-9776-b77034373026

#UNSECO has issued a new report, Visitors Count! that we bring to everyone's attention
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000378568?posInSet=1&queryId=04dc875b-f9c1-4f60-9776-b77034373026

08/17/2021

The US and Canada have a new dark sky park for stargazers to enjoy

The world's first international, transboundary #peacepark, America's and Canada's #Glacier-#WatertonLakes National Parks, which also shares a joint designation as a #worldheritagesite, has now been recognized as an #InternationalDarkSky park! - https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/dark-sky-waterton-glacier-international-peace-park-trnd/index.html

Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is now certified as an International Dark Sky Park, after meeting lighting requirements set by the International Dark Sky Association.

08/16/2021

The hidden sites of Japanese incarceration in Hawaii

Our Office is working closely with the new Superintendent at Honouliuli on their international outreach efforts - https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/the-hidden-history-of-japanese-incarceration-in-world-war-ii-era-hawaii

Commemorating a long-lost internment camp for Japanese Americans highlights hidden stories of heroism and persecution.

08/13/2021

UNESCO seriously concerned about the protection of World Heritage site of the Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela (Ethiopia)

UNESCO often issues succinct summaries of the status of World Hertiage Sites - https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2326

UNESCO wishes to express its deep concern about the reports on the expansion of the conflict to the city of Lalibela (Ethiopia), which hosts the Rock-Hewn Churches. UNESCO calls for the respect of all relevant ...

08/12/2021

Curecanti National Recreation Area certified as an International Dark Sky Park

Another NPS unit has been recognized as an International Dark Sky Park for its night skies - https://www.nbc11news.com/2021/08/05/curecanti-national-recreation-area-certified-an-international-dark-sky-park/

Curecanti National Recreation Area has been certified as an International Dark Sky Park, by the National Park Service and the International Dark Sky Association. This certification recognizes the exceptional quality of Curecanti’s night skies and the opportunities to enhance visitor experiences th...