A new World Wildlife Fund report shows populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians have on average declined in size by a whopping 60 per cent in just over 40 years.

The report calls for action, especially by 2020, a critical year when leaders are expected to review targets for global agreements including the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Sustainable Development Goals.

While those discussions will take place on a global level and may seem far removed from central Victoria, they will come amid concerns about endangered species here.

Data released earlier this month shows 180 animals are at risk in central Victoria. Concerningly, species like the greater glider and yellow-bellied glider do not have recovery plans.

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Many conservationists say government funding has been getting worse, with monitoring and work increasingly being left to citizen scientists and not-for-profits.

Last September, the Threatened Species Recovery Hub warned that governments at all levels rely too heavily on protected wildlife areas, which rarely removed all threats.

They want more funding and coordination for “whole of landscape approaches” with, for example, landowners near to protected areas being rewarded for conservation work helping species.

Related: Wildlife on the edge – who wins when houses hit habitats?

One conservationist helping a not-for-profit buy and rehabilitate bushland in the St Arnaud area recently told me government was next-to-non-existent in this space.

“This is where NGOs are trying to fill the void. So even though we own land a lot of our work is off-reserve to advise other people.”

Those groups should not have to go it alone in these conservation efforts.

It is time for governments, whether in central Victoria or on the global level, to do more for wildlife. Without their leadership, some of our most fragile species risk a silent descent into extinction.

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