Shrinking Lakes, Growing Concerns: Exploring perceptions of lake level decline as a prism for understanding socionatural hazards

Abstract. Groß Glienicker Lake and Sacrower Lake are two lakes in the Berlin-Brandenburg region that are facing significant challenges due to declining water levels associated with climate change. A mixed-method approach was employed, incorporating ethnographic research methods, a household survey and stakeholder workshops, in order to elicit perceptions on social-ecological changes and challenges. The interaction of social-ecological structures with these perceptions was analyzed, as well as the willingness to act, both individually and collectively, to address the challenges. The analysis reveals that the hazard of lake level loss offers a prism through which diffracted social-ecological challenges become visible, thus facilitating an understanding of social processes that shape the definition of the hazard beyond ecological aspects and the path forward in governing risks adaptively. This understanding is based on perceptions of social-ecological hazards and the complexity of perceived responsibilities and willingness to contribute to managing risks. The analysis therefore sheds light on practical implications, in that focusing on pure technical solutions to maintaining or raising the water levels fails to orchestrate solutions to the social-ecological hazards.