Abstract: The Institute for Peoples, Territories, and Pedagogies for Peace (IPTP), founded in 2023, emerged from transnational processes of “peoples diplomacy,” foregrounding the role of Indigenous and Afro-descended community members in advancing ecological justice and peace-building internationally. This undergraduate research contributes to these dialogues related to people-driven solutions to the climate crisis by exploring global discussions on collective practices to uphold the rights of nature. It explores the challenges faced in recognizing these rights and explores how legal frameworks can adapt to embrace community self-determination, building on Indigenous ontologies. The study proposes the enhancement of justice through Lyons’ (2021) “cosmopolitical co-presence.” Lyons, K. (2021) Mejorar los conflictos: derechos de la Amazonia en mundo cosmpololiticos. Revista de Antropologia Y Sociologia: Virajes, 28(2), 105-139. https://doi.org/10.17151/rasv.2021.23.2.6 Relation of research poster to the theme Innovative Pathways to Thriving Communities: The research poster exhibits citizen-led initiatives for protecting the autonomy of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, ecological justice, and transnational collaboration for the defence of these rights. Rooted in collaborations between communities in Colombia, Canada, Bolivia, and Ghana, these initiatives are innovative in their transnational reach, and emphasis on the protection and promotion of Indigenous knowledge systems, and the continued transmission of Indigenous knowledge and ontologies to future generations, and building understanding across difference. These initiatives reflect community-driven solutions that forego waiting for state or business interests to drive policy, and focus on building a groundswell of understanding and
