Broadly speaking, previous World Parks Congresses – four in number- have resulted in the creation of new protected areas, as well as the channelization of funding by national governments towards biodiversity conservation. These Congresses have been:

Held in Seattle from 30 June to 7 July 1962, its purpose 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. An unprecedented event that gathered speakers from across the globe, the Congress completed with the collective ramification that national parks were of international significance.

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.

Coinciding with the centennial of Yellowstone National Park (one of the world’s oldest national park), the Second WPC was held within and near the precincts of the Park. By the time of this WPC, there were officially 1200 national parks worldwide. 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)

The Third World Congress on National Parks focused on the role of protected areas in sustaining society. Ten major areas of concern were recognised by the congress:

• The existing worldwide network of terrestrial Protected Areas (PAs) is inadequate;
• There is a global need for more marine, coastal and freshwater PAs;
• The ecological and managerial quality of existing PAs needs to be improved;
• A system of consistent categories of PAs is crucial to balance conservation and development needs;
• PAs should be linked with sustainable development as nature conservation is not accomplished only by setting aside specially protected natural areas;
• Capacity to manage PAs must be developed;
• Economic tools such as cost-benefit analysis are needed to support and promote the true value of PAs;
• Monitoring is vital to ensure that PAs can meet the needs of society and that they are effectively managed;
• International cooperation mechanisms must be promoted;
• A global programme on PAs must be developed using thes IUCN network.  

The Fourth Congress on National Parks and Protected Areas: Parks for Life was the largest of all congresses with an attendance of 2,500 participants.

Topics and concerns emerging from this gathering included: relationship between people and PAs; conservation of biodiversity in PAs; conservation on a regional scale; funding for PAs; building a stronger constituency for conservation. However, the milestone product of the Caracas WPC was the development of the "Caracas Action Plan" which presented the direction for PAs over the decade spanning 1992 to 2002, 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.

Vth IUCN World Parks Congress 2003