Daniela Duran Gonzalez

Senior Legal Campaigner (Upstream Plastics Treaty)

Daniela Duran (she/her) is a Senior Legal Campaigner focused on the upstream parts of the plastics treaty for CIEL’s Environmental Health program. She is a Colombian campaigner, with relevant experience influencing national and international plastic policy. Daniela supports CIEL’s efforts to ensure the inclusion of adequate provisions in the plastics treaty specific to the upstream portion of the plastics life cycle, including feedstock extraction, petrochemical production, and its related toxic impacts.

Daniela has 6 years of experience working with civil society organizations to strengthen environmental policy, with a focus on reducing plastic production. She worked as a Public Policy Specialist for The Nature Conservancy, where she helped enhance the voices of Indigenous Peoples in international climate policy. She also served as a Policy Advocacy Manager for MarViva Foundation, where she co-drafted and advocated for the approval of Colombia’s first law to reduce single-use plastic production. Daniela provided technical advice to strengthen upstream approaches in over 6 regulations and promoted international policy instruments to address plastic pollution from a lifecycle approach. She consolidated science-based data to support upstream policies and authored more than 10 publications and briefs, including the first publication to disclose data on oil and gas extraction and refinement in petrochemicals of the plastic lifecycle in Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia.

Daniela’s passion for social and environmental justice has driven her to work with vulnerable communities. She has advised Indigenous Peoples leaders to promote their participation and the acknowledgement of their rights in the plastics treaty. She has also collaborated with afro-descendant communities and waste pickers to strengthen their participation in environmental policy and democracy.

Daniela holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the Rosario University in Colombia, and a master’s degree in Environment and Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where she was awarded the Chevening Scholarship for global leaders and researched the frames used for plastic pollution in national policies.

Daniela is an advanced diver and when not working, she practices Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts.

Daniela can be reached at dduran@ciel.org and tweets at @danieladurang6.

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