 Two decades later the IUCN had been asked by the international community to take responsibility for preparing a world list of national parks in keeping with its role as a network to share the world’s knowledge on nature conservation, and in 1960, the IUCN raised the status of the Committee to that of a permanent Commission, with the creation of the Commission on National Parks.In 1996, the World Commission on Protected Areas took on its current name with the approval of the IUCN congress.WCPA is a network of volunteers.