UK supermarkets urge Andalucía against huge strawberry farm expansion

Environmentalists fear for area near Donana national park in Spain over plan which would legitimise illegal farms and wells

A group of leading supermarkets, including Asda, Sainsbury's, and Waitrose, has written to the regional government of Andalucia, warning that plans to allow more strawberry farms near one of Europe's largest protected wetlands could risk the reputation and the long-term development of the region".

Last month, rightwing MPs in the southern Spanish region ignored protests from the central government, the EU, Unesco and several ecological groups by voting to regularise" 1,461 hectares (3610 acres) of land near the Donana national park.