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Implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) is a huge environmental management challenge for Europe, demanding an integrated sustainable approach to water management and a common objective of obtaining 'good status' for all water bodies before 2015. The main task is the preparation of a river basin management plan for each of the 96 European river basin districts before the end of 2009. In Odense River Basin (island of Fyn, Denmark), one of 14 appointed European Pilot River Basins, the implementation of the WFD has been developed and tested in practice. Reference conditions and ecological status classification for Odense Fjord, based on eelgrass (Zostera marina) depth limit and nutrient concentrations, have been drawn up through a combination of historical data and modelling tools. A subsequent quantitative linking of pressures and impact, in casu between land-based nitrogen (N) loading of the fjord and resulting nutrient concentrations and eelgrass appearance, provided an estimate of the needed nitrogen load reduction of the fjord. This amounted to approx. 1,200 tonnes N per year (an annual load reduction of ca. 11 kg N ha -1 of catchment area or ca. 19.5 g N m -2 of fjord surface)-a load reduction of ca. 60% from the present level-to obtain at least 'good' ecological status sensu WFD. It is presently not possible to quantify a target load for phosphorus (P) in relation to marine environmental objectives. An economically feasible programme of measures to obtain 'good' status in all surface water and groundwater bodies in Odense River Basin, using an integrated cost-effectiveness analysis, showed that re-establishment of wetlands, catchcrops, and reduced fertilisation norms are the most effective measures if large reductions in N loads to the aquatic environment are to be achieved. The total socioeconomic cost of implementing the WFD in the river basin amounts to about 13 million €/year, which will Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

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