DOES THE SPECIES PROTECTION INDEX FOR 198 COUNTRIES CONVERGE OVER TIME?Yu Sang Chang, Myeong Cheol Choi1 and Hann Earl KimAbstract Sustainable Development Goals adopted by The United Nations seek to protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species by 2020. Several countries even in the 1990s began expanding species protection to reach the 2020 goal earlier. On the other hand, there are multiple countries with very low level of species protection, thus creating a wide gap between the two groups of countries. This research investigates whether countries with low level of species protection efforts in the early years have been catching up faster in recent year. If so, how fast is the speed of catch-ups? We used 198 countries during the period of 1990 to 2015 for the total as well as for the ten subgroups of countries defined by income levels and regions. Key findings from this research indicate that those groups of countries with lower species protection in the early years have been catching up fast to leading groups of countries. Thus, the gap between the leading and lagging groups has narrowed during the period. This study also identifies several regions which will play a critical role of enhancing species protection in the future. |