Alberta is considering including provincial parks and wild lands in the Kananaskis area southwest of Calgary in an expanded UN World Heritage Site. (Nick Didlick/Reuters)Alberta and B.C. are looking to add more international sparkle to Canada's Rocky Mountain parks.

Seven parks in the Rockies are already designated as a United Nations World Heritage Site because of their spectacular peaks, glaciers, pristine lakes, wildlife and geology.

Now the two provinces and Parks Canada are talking about asking the UN to add nearby provincial parks and other protected lands to the heritage site.

If approved, the expanded area could cover up to 3.5 million hectares of wilderness.

Alberta is considering including some or all provincial parks and wild lands along the eastern slopes of the Rockies from the Kananaskis area southwest of Calgary all the way up to the Kakwa area northwest of Jasper.

B.C. is looking at including Height of the Rockies, Kakwa, Elk Lakes, Cummins Lakes, Mount Terry Fox and Top of the World provincial parks.

"The international designation is having an increasing influence in world travellers' choice of destinations," Suntanu Dalal, a B.C. Environment spokesperson, said in an email.

"[The] expansion … will likely enhance the international profile of any additional B.C. parks added to the World Heritage Site. Expansion of the site will also add significant conservation values."

Expansion would boost tourism

The Canadian Rocky Mountains near Lake Louise, Alta. (Mike Blake/Reuters)Tourism and environmental groups say they support the idea.

Don Boynton of Travel Alberta, a Crown corporation, said including more parks and wilderness areas to the heritage site would make the parks even more prestigious and help boost Alberta's $5 billion tourism industry.

"It lends credibility to the destination — that the United Nations recognizes this as one of the best places in the world to visit," he said. "It would add to the awareness and to the appeal."

Nigel Douglas of the Alberta Wilderness Association said the idea has fantastic potential and suggested the province should try to win public support for the plan.

The designation wouldn't change the legal status of the parks, he said, but placing more areas under the international spotlight would put indirect pressure on the federal and provincial governments to maintain the areas' ecological integrity.

The process of making the application takes time and involves a visit by a UN team to tour the nominated areas. The earliest a decision could be made would be 2012.