The comparative study funded by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency aimed at a better understanding of and mutual learning from inland, coastal and marine water management practices of Denmark's neighboring countries. Five countries were covered in the overall study: Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland and Denmark. The study concerned the methods used to reduce nutrients in water bodies in the Baltic and North Sea with regard to the EU Water Framework Directive.

Following a literature review and expert interviews Ecologic Institute contributed information on topics such as:

• Land use and main drivers to the pressure from nutrients on coastal waters
• Specific thresholds and baselines to reach the goals in the WFD and Nitrates Directive
• Reference conditions and environmental targets, i.e. criteria values for good ecological status
• Assessment of needs for nutrient reductions

Ecologic Institute provided information on the German part of the study. The geographical focus was on the managerial approaches in the federal states of: Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Niedersachsen.