Protests in Indonesia demand action to stop rainforest fires

Summary

Protests in Indonesia are demanding action to stop rainforest fires. Smoke from the blazes, which the reporting blames on destructive agricultural practices, has sickened hundreds of thousands of people and blanketed neighboring countries. As wildfires rage across Sumatra and Kalimantan, frustrated Indonesians are also turning to performance art to call for greater government action and to draw global attention to the destruction of the country's rainforests and cultural heritage. In South Sumatra, the local art collective Jaga Api launched a project called Tarian Kehancuran Budaya (the Dance of Cultural Destruction), using traditional performance to convey the human and environmental toll of the fires.

Timeline

1. New York Times

   22 Oct 2026, 04:22 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that protests in Indonesia demand action to stop rainforest fires, whose smoke, blamed on destructive agricultural practices, has sickened hundreds of thousands and blanketed neighboring countries.

2. South China Morning Post

   22 Oct 2026, 07:59 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that frustrated Indonesians are turning to performance art to demand more government action on wildfires raging across Sumatra and Kalimantan, with the South Sumatra collective Jaga Api staging the project Tarian Kehancuran Budaya to show the toll of the fires.