The 1992 WPC in Caracas recognised the accelerating rate of global change and suggested a mid-term global meeting in 1997 to monitor progress toward achieving the Caracas Action Plan objectives. As a result the symposium "Protected Areas in the 21st Century: from Islands to Networks" was held over the period 24 - 29 November 1997 in Albany, Western Australia.

First World Conference on National Parks- Seattle (USA) 1962

The "First World Conference on National Parks" was held in Seattle from 30 June to 7 July 1962. The purpose of this conference was to establish a more effective international understanding of national parks and to encourage further development of the national park movement on a worldwide scale.

This was the inaugural World Parks Congress: never before in the history of conservation had so many different speakers talked about so many different aspects of parks. Issues discussed included: the effects of humans on wildlife; species extinction; the religious significance and aesthetic meaning of certain parks and wilderness; international supervision of boundary parks; the economic benefits of tourism; the role of national parks in scientific studies; and the practical problems of park management. The overall consensus was that national parks were of international significance.

Second World Conference on National Parks- Yellowstone (USA) 1972

By 1972 the nations of the world could count more than 1,200 national parks or equivalent reserves, all set aside in accordance with the idea conceived at Yellowstone. Issues discussed at the conference included: the effects of tourism on protected areas; broad aspects of park planning and management; special, social scientific and environmental problems within national parks in wet tropical, arid, and mountain regions; controversial aspects of wildlife management in protected areas; the social, scientific and environmental problems of marine, island, polar and sub-polar protected areas; the problems associated with communicating park values to visitors and engendering environmental awareness; improving international training opportunities; opportunities to expand and improve the global park system; and the needs and benefits of public support for national parks and equivalent reserves.

Third World National Parks Congress - Bali (Indonesia) 1982

The "Third World Congress on National Parks" was held in Bali from 11 - 22 October 1982 and focused on the role of protected areas in sustaining society. Ten major areas of concern were recognised by the congress:

1. The inadequacy of the existing worldwide network of terrestrial PAs.
2. The global need for more marine, coastal and freshwater PAs.
3. The ecological and managerial quality of existing PAs needed to be improved.
4. A system of consistent categories of PAs was noted as crucial to balance conservation and development needs.
5. PAs should be linked with sustainable development as nature conservation is not accomplished only by the setting aside of specially protected natural areas.
6. Capacity to manage PAs must be developed.
7. Economic tools such as cost-benefit analysis are needed to support and promote the true value of PAs.
8. Monitoring is vital to ensure that PAs can meet the needs of society and that they are effectively managed.
9. International cooperation mechanisms must be promoted.
10. A global programme on PAs must be developed using the IUCN network.

The fourth World Congress on National Parks and Protected Areas- Caracas (Venezuela) 1992

The "Fourth Congress on National Parks and Protected Areas: Parks for Life" was held in Caracas from 10 - 21 February 1992. WPC, Caracas was the largest of all the congresses attracting 2,500 participants (including 700 from Venezuela). This was a massive increase over the attendance at Bali ten years earlier where some 350 PA professionals gathered. The major messages coming from the congress included:

• The relationship between people and PAs is too often ignored: the Congress emphasised that social, cultural, economic and political issues are not peripheral to PAs but are central to them. It called for community participation and equality in decision-making processes, together with the need for mutual respect among cultures.
• Conserving biodiversity: few PAs have given full attention to the biodiversity issue and the Congress requested that all countries undertake surveys to identify additional sites of critical importance for the conservation of biodiversity and, wherever possible, accord total protection to them. It was recognised that approaches developed for conserving biodiversity on land may not always be appropriate for marine PAs and plans for a new Global Marine Programme were announced.
• Conservation on a regional scale: the Congress recognised that it was unlikely that PAs would be able to protect biodiversity if they are surrounded by degraded habitat. PAs need to be a part of a more regional approach to land management.
• Funding for PAs: the full benefits of PAs are seldom recognised, so an appropriate balance between costs and benefits is not easily apparent to decision-makers. Many of the benefits of PAs are intangible and outside prevailing concepts of economics. Greatly increased investments for PAs would be helpful only if the investments are part of an overall development package.
• Building a stronger constituency for conservation: the Congress recognised that support for PAs is required from all parts of society and called for a vigorous international programme in support of PAs.

An enduring output from Caracas was the "Caracas Action Plan" which synthesised the strategic actions for PAs over the decade from 1992 to 2002. The "Caracas Action Plan" provides a global framework for collective action by protected area professionals under four objectives:

1. Integrating PAs into larger planning frameworks.
2. Expanding the support for PAs by involving local communities and other various non-traditional interest groups.
3. Strengthening the capacity to manage PAs.
4. Expanding international cooperation in the financing, development and management of PAs.

The goal of the "Caracas Action Plan" was to extend the PA network to cover at least 10% of each major biome by the Year 2000.