The haze is the result of wildfires, themselves the result of illegal clearance for agriculture. The main agricultural sector responsible for illegal clearance is the producers of palm oil, a controversial ingredient in food products.
The haze has caused widespread rspiratory problems, and at least 8 people have died as a result.
Malaysia has accused the Indonesian governmentof not doing enough to stop the fires.
Indonesia produces more than half the world’s palm oil and this demand has caused farmers to ignore the fact that slash-and-burn clearance of land is illegal.
In addition to humans, many animals are at risk, including endangered species such as orangutans, tigers, and elephants.
This would be an interesting dystopian future to write a story about, one in which endangered animal smugglers are torn between following the law and saving the specimens by transporting them to safety. Taking this concept to the extreme, what if there was such a massive burning of the Amazonian and Indonesian rainforests, causing the most dangerous animals to develop a taste for human flesh. This could be why a reversion to humans not being at the top of the food pyramid exists. All that would be required would be for these fires to someway lead to the collapse of society, maybe a localized version where humans on the island of Indonesia have to scramble for their lives because they arent allowed to leave the country. It would have almost a West World feel to the whole thing, humans trapped on an island with wild animals, and a hero (of the young boy/girl type) could be the one to control the animals. Like Beastmaster. A modern day beastmaster reboot.
