Sebastian Benfeld
Fighting pollution & protecting environmental defenders
About
Sebastián Benfeld is an environmental and human rights defender. He was born in a ‘sacrificed’ zone in Chile – Quintero y Puchuncavi – one of the world’s most polluted areas where oil leaks and pollution from heavy industry are harming the health of local citizens. From a very young age, he has engaged with youth movements to advance environmental protection. He participated in cleanups and reforestation activities and managed his school’s waste. Today, he promotes important public policies to protect both people and ecosystems.
Work
In 2019, Sebastián Benfeld launched Escazú Ahora, a movement that rallied over 34,000 people and 450 organizations calling for the Chilean government to adopt the Escazú Treaty. It’s the first international agreement to recognize the right to a healthy environment in Latin America and requires individual states to investigate any attack against environmental rights defenders.
Thanks to pressure from Sebastián’s movement, Chile overwhelmingly adhered to the treaty.