俺的理解和你正相反，

觉得文中even if the economic costs of doing so were outweighed by the economic costs of not doing so.
应译成：尽管对这些环境资源的保护要比毁掉它们付出更多的经济代价。（觉得观点有点另类，不过说明败事容易，成事难哈）
outweigh - To be more significant than; exceed in value or importance, 例: The benefits outweigh the risks.