SANHUC works in the following thematic areas:

BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION:

Protected Area Management- Nigeria’s Protected Areas (PAs) authorities are battled with threats on multiple fronts, where rangers/forest guards and their staff risk their lives every day to protect the areas and their resources. Subsistence agriculture, and logging, as well as extractive industries, are encroaching on these PAs and buffer zones, putting these important conservation areas at risk. SANHUC works in partnership with other stakeholders to support the management of PAs across Nigeria. Areas of support include; building their capacity through training and equipment, promoting environmental education and awareness-raising, as well as improve Protected Areas-Community relations.

Wildlife Crime and Trafficking– We are working with other stakeholders to curb illegal wildlife trade in products such as ivory, horn, pangolin scales, live specimens, etc., which is fast destroying Nigeria’s valuable ecosystems. We also work with stakeholders to identify the wildlife crime hotspots, and synergized to intercept wildlife contraband.

Climate change- Climate change threats are growing in Nigeria and across the world, and Nigeria’s forests can be a part of the solution. Forests contribute significantly to global carbon emissions when cleared, overused, or degraded. SANHUC is working with PAs management, stakeholders in conservation, and communities to sensitize and create awareness towards ensuring the sustainable management of forests, to conserve wildlife habitats and save humanity. We provide sustainable and proactive participatory measures to mitigate climate change impacts on rural communities through climate-smart conservation planning, sustainable natural resource management and conservation-friendly enterprises. We have a Climate Change Program that aims at strengthening the understanding and capacity of rural communities to take action against climate change, and raising awareness on the role of local communities and forests in tackling climate change.

Mainstream Advocacy- In Nigeria today, policies often times are in direct contradiction to the efforts to preserve and protect critical environment and our biodiversity. We identify key policy issues to develop advocacy campaigns and mobilize public support. We advocate for greater political accountability as it relates to environment, biodiversity conservation, land grabbing, deforestation and corruption.

COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT:
SANHUC is, building new sustainable opportunities for communities, and saving wildlife and natural ecosystems simultaneously. We work directly with communities to understand their unique challenges and provide tailored, holistic solutions to improve their lives while also benefiting conservation. These solutions provide jobs, conservation training, educational opportunities, and, ultimately, the ability for the people to diversify their livelihoods and secure a promising future for their communities.

We take community members through a process of understanding their environment, natural resources, identifying their problems and together, exploring sustainable solutions to these problems that affect their livelihoods. We also support the efforts of community-based organizations to implement these initiatives at the community level.

Community Conservation:
We engaged and empower the local actors including community elders, women, and the youths, on conservation-friendly development targeted to mitigate the treats on wildlife and their habitats while meeting the needs of people. We support reforestation of degraded agro-ecological zones and depleted water catchment areas, through our tree planting campaigns, and this secure a future for small-scale agricultural enterprises.

Livelihood Development:
We work with communities to develop and promote solutions that allow them to build alternative sources of income that also prevent environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, through the establishment of sustainable nature-based enterprises, which are conservation-friendly. We have in place, a socially cost-effective, innovative, simple and inclusive development options to train women, youths, etc to increase their family incomes, and understand the potential and economic value of biodiversity protection.

Sustainable Agriculture:
To boost livelihoods and restore ecosystems, we have introduced climate-smart agriculture and sustainable energy solutions as part of land-use plans. Rural and small-scale farmers are trained on conservation-centered agricultural practices, which include technologies to deliver higher yields, provide climate-smart crops, tools, and know-how to transform their agricultural ventures, and facilitate access to affordable finance and linkage to new markets. We also train and organize groups to develop alternative livelihoods from non-timber forest products and beekeeping, depending on their priorities.

Youth entrepreneurship and employment:
SANHUC promotes youth entrepreneurship and employment through creating pathways for new job opportunities particularly in established agribusinesses and value chains development.
Gender issues are integrated across all community empowerment schemes and focused on, boosting investment on women owned agribusiness development and enabling women beneficiaries to access preferential or special support product and services, particularly financial grants. We work with a wide range of partners in the agricultural sector, which include networks of women owned businesses, cooperative societies, youth organizations and the private sector.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL ADVOCACY:
This is aimed at improving the quality of lives of children, women, elderly and other marginalized vulnerable groups in our communities and urban suburbs. We work with other partners to carry out sensitization campaigns on sanitation and a healthy environment, against social vices such as cultism, prostitution, child trafficking, premarital sex, drug addiction, gender-based violence etc.