Miriam Miranda

Indigenous environmental leader protecting Amazon biodiversity through community-based conservation

Miriam Miranda is a Miskito leader and environmental activist from Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast, championing rainforest preservation since the 1990s. As founder of Mestizos del Río Coco, she mobilized 15,000+ indigenous families to create a 1.2 million-hectare protected area against illegal logging and mining. Her work has prevented 300+ species extinctions in the Río Coco watershed.

Miranda pioneered 'biocultural corridors' connecting ancestral territories with modern conservation strategies. Her collaboration with UNDP established participatory mapping systems recognized by UNESCO. In 2021, she received the Goldman Environmental Prize for her grassroots approach to climate action.

She co-authored the Indigenous Territories Management Law, which grants legal recognition to 38 communities. Miranda's radio program Voz de la Selva broadcasts in six indigenous languages, educating 500K+ listeners on environmental rights. Her 2023 book The Forest Speaks documents oral histories of Amazonian ecological wisdom.