The Seminar, a follow-up to the Seminar on the role of ecosystems as water suppliers (Geneva, 13-14 December 2004), will be organized around three major themes: valuing ecosystem services, legal and contractual aspects and challenges for implementation. One outcome will be to make a specific contribution to the ninth meeting of the Contracting Parties to the 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. This conference will bring together government officials, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector.