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.

The Commission has a Steering Committee, and the Chair is elected every four years at the IUCN World Conservation Congress.

WCPA Steering Committee meetings occur once a year and include reporting on IUCN Global Protected Areas Programme (GPAP) and WCPA activities, discussion and decisions on important upcoming events and initiatives, review of the GPAP Intersessional Programme, and discussion and decisions on WCPA directions and priorities for the upcoming year.

Current Task Forces include: Thematic Groups and Initiatives contribute to the WCPA mandate by providing cross-cutting support to the Steering Committee, Specialist Groups, Task Forces, and Initiatives.