A new and comprehensive book on how to care for the world's great natural and cultural treasures protected in national parks, written by experts from around the globe, will be launched at The Australian National University (ANU) on Wednesday.

The free online book, Protected Area Governance and Management, draws on the experience of those entrusted to protect the world's great national parks and protected areas, from the heights of Mount Everest to the depths of the Grand Canyon.

"The book is one generation of managers speaking to the next and passing on the richness of lessons learned in protected area management," said ANU Adjunct Professor and lead editor and author Dr Graeme Worboys, from the Fenner School of Environment and Society.

The free online book, written by 169 volunteer authors from across the world and produced by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Commission on Protected Areas, is set to become the definitive text for anyone wanting to work in conserving protected areas.

Protected Area Governance and Management, published by ANU Press, shares the wisdom and experiences of people who have managed the world's protected areas and looks at how the lessons of the past can be used for present and future management.

"It is passing the baton of essential information needed for management in a relay race that is intergenerational," Dr Worboys said.

ANU contributing authors include Professor Stephen Dovers, Associate Professor Jamie Pittock, Professor David Lindenmayer and Dr Malcolm Gill, while contributions also came from David Salt and Associate Professor Don Driscoll.

The European Union and its associated  BIOPAMA project, US National Park Service, the United Nations Environment Programme and its World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and the Great Eastern Ranges Connectivity Corridor Initiative all contributed by sponsoring the book.

The book will be launched at the ANU on Wednesday by the European Union Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Mr Sem Fabrizi.