Born in Germany, Sabine Plattner grew up in Freiburg, an area surrounded by forests which instilled a lifelong passion for the world’s natural spaces. Mrs. Plattner first journeyed to the African continent in 1978, falling in love with its diverse and plentiful wilderness.
Renowned globally in the racehorse industry, Mrs Plattner is a philanthropist at heart. She has created the largest, privately funded conservation-commerce company in the Congo Basin, Congo Conservation Company (CCC), serves as a chairperson of Leadership for Conservation in Africa (LCA) as well as leading and funding SPAC (Sabine Plattner African Charities) in Africa, amidst supporting a myriad of other foundations and organisations globally.
In 2007, Mrs. Plattner travelled to Republic of the Congo to establish educational programmes for the communities of Odzala-Kokoua National Park. Her interest in Republic of the Congo further developed after meeting Ian Cockerill, the founding chairman of Leadership for Conservation in Africa (LCA), and Chris Marais, the founding CEO. LCA seeks to positively influence, accelerate and bring about the protection of rainforests and selected eco-systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Plattner joined the Board of the South Africa-based NGO because she trusted the founders’ ability to build effective partnerships with business and government.
With SPAC and the LCA working together with communities, researchers and the Congolese government, Mrs. Plattner funded the first low-impact commercially viable tourism model in Odzala-Kokoua National Park through the establishment of Congo Conservation Company in 2008. Mrs. Plattner has therefore been actively involved in the preservation and viability of Africa’s rainforests for over a decade with a positive impact being felt not only within the Congo, but is spreading across the Congo Basin.
”I believe that no person can be whole if you do not connect with nature.
Sabine Plattner
In 2017, Mrs. Plattner was elected as the chairperson of the LCA board. In 2019, Mrs. Plattner was awarded the highest tribute that the Federal Republic of Germany can bestow upon private citizens for services to the nation – the German Order of Merit – for her conservation efforts in Republic of the Congo.
“With this decoration, the German President pays tribute to a great lady, a modest woman, who does not like to hear much about her good deeds publicly,” Ambassador Klaus Peter Schick said at the ceremony which was held in Brazzaville.
At Congo Conservation Company, we are honoured to work alongside Mrs Plattner, SPAC and the LCA as we work towards creating protected natural spaces in the Congo Basin where empowered communities make viable long-term choices and coexist with nature through education and sustainable economic opportunities.
