Karen Santos Ibasco (Tagalog pronunciation: [ɪˈbɐskɔ]; born December 17, 1990) is a Filipina physicist and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Philippines Earth 2017.

[4] Ibasco entered and won the Miss Philippines Earth pageant 2017, on July 15, 2017, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.

[13]During the final question and answer portion, the top four contestants were asked by the host James Deakin: "Who or what do you think is the biggest enemy of Mother Earth and why?"

What we have to do is to start changing our ways, to start recalibrating our minds and redirecting our steps because together, as a global community, our micro-efforts will have a macro-effect to help save our home, our planet.Ibasco was personally congratulated by former Philippine president and Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada when she paid a courtesy call on Estrada at the latter's office in Manila City Hall.

[18] The Resolution indicated that "the Filipina beauty queen’s positive and strong determination to fulfill her dream of winning the title is indeed a positive example and great inspiration to her countrymen, particularly the youth, that no dream is impossible as long as she puts her heart and mind to it; Resolve by the Senate, that the Senate of the Philippines recognizes and commends Karen Ibasco on her victory at the Miss Earth 2017, and extends its warmest gratitude for bringing pride and glory to all Filipino citizens.

By being crowned Miss Earth, she made the country proud and has shown to the world the true meaning of Filipino beauty, excellence and love for the environment.

[21][22][23] The event was held at the Teatrino Promenade in Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila where she also won the Face of the Year special award.

[21] The University of Santo Tomas College of Science Alumni Association recognized Ibasco as a notable graduate in the Thomasian Outstanding Alumni Scientists Tribute Awards on March 2, 2019, for her environmental advocacies and in recognition of her significant and exemplary contribution to the science community and the nation.

"[26] Ibasco went to Cambodia in November 2017 and took part with the environmental and social activities such as school tours, tree planting and visited historical landmarks Angkor Wat and Siem Reap.

[31] During her reign, she collaborated in the Philippines with the Conservation for Ocean Resources and Aquatic Life (CORAL), a non-governmental organization to plant corals in the oceans, worked with Plastic Solutions to reduce the consumption of plastic, conducted school tours to educate children about the environment and promoted the use of solar power.

[34][35] Ibasco proceeded to Reunion Islands together with Miss Earth Fire 2018 Lada Akimova of Russia and served as a guest speakers at the very first Environmental Conference in Réunion Island and visited the city of Saint-Pierre to raise ecological awareness through school tours where they educated children on the daily actions in favor of the environment, spearheaded the planting of more than 1000 trees in the Saint-Pierre territory with the introduction of various endemic species.

[42][43] In addition to her numerous trips around Philippines, during her reign as Miss Earth, Ibasco had traveled to Cambodia, Vietnam, Mexico, Réunion Island, Singapore, Colombia and Belgium.

[47] She was also chosen as an ambassador of international non-governmental organization, World Wide Fund for Nature in 2019 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment.

[48][49][50] Ibasco was appointed as the Climate Change Commission's Youth Ambassador in the Philippines in 2019 and was sent as one of the representatives of the Philippines in the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit which aims to bring the countries closer to meeting the goals of the Paris agreement which was held at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City on September 23, 2019.