Dr. Sabine Schoppe is a German conservation biologist whose career spans more than three decades of wildlife research and conservation in the Philippines. After earning her Ph.D. in Biology from the Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany, she moved to the Philippines in 1995, where she has since combined scientific research with practical conservation action. Her early work included ornithological surveys and community-based coastal resource management in the Visayas of central Philippines, helping to shape her collaborative approach to biodiversity conservation.
In 1999, Sabine joined the State Polytechnic College of Palawan (now Western Philippines University), as Guest Professor of Aquatic and Marine Biology. During her six-year tenure, she strengthened research capacity, established lasting partnerships, and introduced freshwater turtle conservation into the university’s curriculum. She has continued to serve as Adjunct Professor at the College of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences and as Associate Editor of The Palawan Scientist.
As a co-founder of the Philippine-based NGO, Katala Foundation, Inc., Sabine initially supported the Philippine Cockatoo Conservation Program, which had already gained international recognition for reversing the decline of the critically endangered Philippine Cockatoo through habitat protection, nest guarding, and strong community engagement. Inspired by the success of her co-founders, she initiated the Philippine/Palawan Freshwater Turtle Conservation Program in 2007 and the Philippine/Palawan Pangolin Conservation Program in 2008, focusing on two of the Philippines’ most threatened endemic species: the Palawan Forest Turtle (Siebenrockiella leytensis) and the Philippine Pangolin (Manis culionensis). Under her leadership, these programs achieved several conservation milestones, including the establishment of the first protected area for the Palawan Forest Turtle and the world’s first successful conservation breeding of the species. Through partnerships with Turtle Conservancy and Rainforest Trust, critical habitats have also been secured to protect important wild populations.
In 2015, Sabine led the response to one of the largest wildlife rescue operations involving the Palawan Forest Turtle, after some 4,000 individuals were confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade. Working with veterinarians and conservation specialists from around the world, including the Turtle Survival Alliance and Turtle Conservancy, she helped rehabilitate and return thousands of turtles to the wild while initiating one of Asia’s few large-scale post-release monitoring programs for freshwater turtles. For these efforts, she was honored with the 2015 Andrew Sabin Award for Excellence in Chelonian Conservation.
Today, Sabine is recognized as one of the Philippines’ foremost conservationists. Her work demonstrates how scientific research, species conservation, wildlife law enforcement, and community stewardship can be successfully combined to protect some of the world’s most threatened species and ecosystems.