The intention of the Multi-scale Integrated Models of Ecosystem Services (MIMES) is to fully account for all the relevant factors that contribute to our well-being through natural, human, social and built capital.

Ecosystems are dynamic organizations that are in continuous change. Ecosystems services are all of the benefits provided by ecosystems, both directly and indirectly, that are fundamental to human well-being, such as water supply and food provision. Anthropogenic activities are responsible for the majority of disturbances to ecosystems and their services.

Natural Capital refers to land and the many natural resources it contains, including ecological systems, mineral deposits, and other features of the natural world. Human Capital includes both the physical labor of humans and the know-how stored in their brains. Built Capital encompasses all the machines and other infrastructure like buildings, roads, and factories that compose the human economy. Social (or Cultural) Capital includes the web of interpersonal connections, institutional arrangements, rules, and norms that facilitate individual human interactions.

MIMES is a suite of models that enables understanding of the contributions of ecosystem services by quantifying the effects of varying environmental conditions derived from land use change. MIMES evaluates land use changes and subsequent effects on ecosystem services on global, regional and local levels.

MIMES submodels are organized into five different spheres - Atmosphere, Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere and Anthroposphere - that are synthesized and interrelated. For instance, the atmospheric composition of the Earth and its surface properties have being changed by human activities, particularly in the last 150 years. MIMES uses input data to develop relationships among the spheres to demonstrate how development, management and land use decisions will affect natural, human and built capital.

When economic analyses, strategies, and policies comprehend the links and interdependencies that exist between these five complex spheres and the four capitals, they are better able to meet the goals of sustainable human health and contentment.