The Philippine government is conducting geohazard mapping on the country's 97 coastal areas after it completed the mapping project on landslide- and flood- prone areas, a senior government official said Monday.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ramon Paje said the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (MGB) is now set for coastal geohazard mapping with particular attention on the effects of the rising sea level due to climate change.

"This will give us solid information as to which coastal areas or shorelines are experiencing erosion or are prone to erosion to enable the government plan for a more responsive risk reduction program for these areas and other climate change mitigating and adaptation measures," said Paje.

In a report to Paje, MGB acting director Leo Jasareno said among the environmental changes that will be looked into under the project are the erosion and accretion or sedimentation of shorelines.

Jasareno said that for this year, MGB's Marine Geology Division, which is conducting the geohazard assessment, is targeting 97 coastal areas as priority areas in the provinces of Cagayan, La Union, Iloilo, Aklan, Antique, Negros Oriental and Cebu.

Among the parameters set by MGB in determining the priority areas to be covered by the project are the area's inherence to vulnerability, average rainfall, wind surges affecting the area, and the number of population in the coastal area.