(Issue Overview)

 

By: Pablo Hernandez

 

Deforestation, also known as clear-cutting, is the process of clearing, cutting and removing parts of forests in order to use the area for different purposes. The process, which has been a controversial topic around the world brings in positive and negative outcomes that split viewpoints on the issue.

Clear-cutting remains as a top global controversy. According to a study published by “Scientific Reports” in January 2017, some of the existing primary causes for deforestation around the world today in places such as South America and Africa “include increases in overall population in urban areas, agricultural practices and trade, shifting cultivation and government policies.” These factors not only drive deforestation abroad but also contribute to keeping it alive locally. According to data surveyed by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2007, “the U.S. lost 17,083,500 acres of forestland due to development,” according to the report which is titled “Deforestation, Oregon Style”.

Here in Oregon, the same study read that “compared with the year 2000, western Oregon now has approximately 522,000 fewer acres of forest cover due to clearcutting,” a clear depiction of the severity of the issue. A 1975 study titled “Impact of Clear Cutting and Road Construction in the Western Cascade Range, Oregon” states “since 1950, 116 kilometers of roads were constructed due to clear-cutting and logging,” which is known to cause major landslides that are “typical of the recorded observations dating back to the 1850’s.”

As mentioned, deforestation has proven to be detrimental in many ways. Landslides, loss of trees and the destruction of many ecosystems are among local problems. On a larger scale, deforestation leads to overgrazing, decrease in biodiversity and more importantly it “affects wind flows, water vapor flows and absorption of solar energy, thus clearly influencing local and global climate,” according to a 2011 study titled “Deforestation: Causes, Effects and Control Strategies.” However, deforestation is responsible for bringing many positive aspects as well, including “urbanization, agricultural production boosts, lumber and paper products, employment boosts and global debt management,” as told by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in an article titled “Trade offs Between Economic Growth and Deforestation.” These positive factors each add a beneficial influence towards the economy, which strives off deforestation. The conflicting sides of good and bad in this situation mold the issue of deforestation into a controversial topic that still proves to be important to this day.