On the dual economy of conservation.
Why every protected-area file now carries two ledgers — one for markets, one for relationships — and what happens when those ledgers are confused.
Coming soon( 08 ) Team
One desk. A wide network.
● Yellowknife, NT
Founder · Principal
Ryan Planche
Ryan is a PhD candidate in geography at Wilfrid Laurier University whose research advances a critical political economy of conservation. His work examines how contemporary conservation initiatives are shaped by the logics of capitalist accumulation, legibility, and state recognition, while foregrounding Indigenous theoretical contributions on recognition, resurgence, and refusal.
Developed in partnership with Dene governments across Denendeh (NWT), his research advances the concept of dual economies within conservation — distinguishing between market-oriented conservation economies and relational stewardship economies grounded in Indigenous law, reciprocity, and care.
Based in Yellowknife, Ryan founded Grounded Consulting to support Indigenous governments and organizations in the development of IPCAs, socio-economic and environmental assessments, and policy pathways aligned with Indigenous governance — across the NWT, Alberta, and British Columbia.
IPCAs
Socio-econ assessment
Stewardship planning
Facilitation
Political economy
Data infrastructure