How can we use science and math to develop a cost-benefit analysis to help manage natural resources?

Cost–benefit analysis (CBA), also known as benefit–cost analysis, is rooted in applied welfare economics. It is a way of organizing and analyzing data as an aid to thinking. It provides a set of procedures for comparing benefits and costs and is traditionally associated with government intervention and with the evaluation of government action and government projects. The underlying rationale for CBA is rational choice; that is, a rational agent will weigh the costs and benefits of any proposed activity and will only undertake the activity if the benefits exceed the costs