Sebastian Benfeld
Fighting pollution & protecting environmental defenders
About
Sebastián Benfeld is an environmental and human rights defender from Chile’s Valparaíso Region. After beginning his activism through local environmental initiatives, he shifted his focus to advancing public policies that protect both people and the environment.
Work
In 2020, Sebastián Benfeld founded Escazú Ahora in 2020, mobilizing over 34,000 people and 450 organizations to secure Chile’s adoption of the Escazú Agreement, a landmark treaty promoting environmental democracy and the protection of environmental defenders. Since then, he has focused on addressing violence against environmental defenders by documenting attacks, supporting affected communities, and advancing legal protections. In 2025, he led a campaign backed by more than 650 organizations that helped secure the approval of a landmark bill to protect environmental defenders in Chile, currently under discussion in the Senate.