On the 20th anniversary of the saola's discovery, conservationists say the population of the reclusive species has dropped dramatically

Wild saola caught on a camera-trapped in Bolikhamxay Province, central Laos
An 'Asian unicorn' or saola caught on a camera-trapped in Bolikhamxay Province, central Laos in 1999. Photograph: William Robichaud/WWF International

Poaching in Vietnam and Laos may be driving the "Asian unicorn" to extinction, warns the WWF on the twentieth anniversary of its discovery.

About 4 million hectares of crops are suffering from a severe drought in China that has hit 13 provinces including the major farming province of Sichuan in southwest China, state news agency Xinhua said.

The drought has left 7.8 million people and 4.6 million livestock without adequate drinking water in provinces including Yunnan, Hebei, Shanxi and Gansu as of Thursday, Xinhua said.

The dry spell has dried reservoirs and threatens spring planting, the agency said, citing the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

Nepal is looking to scale up its flagship household biogas programme, which has made forays into other developing countries in Asia and Africa.

Initiated in 1992 with support from the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), Nepal has installed over 240,000 household biogas plants with a thermal energy capacity of 444 megawatts and greenhouse gas savings of 367,409 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said that people in Pakistan are likely to be particularly vulnerable to water shortages due to leakage, inefficient domestic water use, or underinvestment in providing access, especially in rural and slum areas.

The Bank in its recent report titled 'Green Growth, Resources and Resilience: Environmental Sustainability in Asia and the Pacific' has said that the availability of water is a major factor in food security, as nearly 70 percent of freshwater withdrawals are for agriculture, mainly for irrigation.

A wildly-colored gecko, a fish that looks like a gherkin, and a monkey with an Elvis-like hairstyle are among the more than 200 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong region last year, environmental group WWF said on Monday.

The area's diversity is so astonishing that a new species is found every two days, but regional cooperation and decision-making must take centre stage to preserve its richness, the group added.

The dangers posed to local wildlife were highlighted earlier this year, when WWF said that Vietnam's Javan rhinos have been poached into extinction.

Interpol on Wednesday launched a new campaign to coordinate the global fight against tiger poaching, warning that failure to protect the endangered cats would have economic and social repercussions.

The international police organisation said it was imperative that the 13 nations where tigers can still be found work together to combat wildlife crime.

David Higgins, manager of Interpol’s environment crime programme, said the extinction of the tiger would impact not only biodiversity but the ‘economic stability and security stability’ of countries where they are now found.