Miguel Najera

Pioneer of community-led reforestation in Mexico's Sierra Madre region, restoring 12,000+ hectares of degraded land

Miguel Najera, born in 1975, is a biologist and environmental leader who co-founded Sierra Viva in 1999. Working in the biodiverse but deforested Sierra Madre Occidental, he developed the Community Forest Guardians model where local Indigenous communities receive training and tools to manage reforestation projects. This approach has restored over 12,000 hectares of forest, created 300+ permanent jobs, and increased local tree cover from 15% to 65% in project areas. Najera's Seed to Sky program (2005) involves aerial seeding of native species, a technique now used in reforestation projects across Latin America. His partnership with WWF Mexico since 2010 has expanded the initiative to 15 protected areas. Najera's 2017 documentary Roots of Resilience won a EcoScreen Award, and his EcoSchool Network educates 10,000+ students annually. Notably, his Carbon Credit for Communities system (2018) allows local groups to earn income through verified carbon credits, a model now adopted by the Mexican government's INECC. Najera's work was highlighted in Nature Magazine's 2020 climate solutions report, and his TED Talk Reforesting with Communities has over 1.2 million views.