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. In this paper, we report on a study that employed a mixed-method approach, incorporating ethnographic research, a household survey and stakeholder workshops, to address: (1) public and stakeholder perceptions of these declining lake levels (2) the social structures that interact with these perceptions, (3) the willingness to act and perceptions of responsibility, and (4) the local practices for dealing with these challenges. Our analysis reveals that lake level loss offers a prism through which such a hazard becomes visible and understandable as shaped by the interdependence of natural and social processes. From this understanding, we develop possible paths forward in governing risks adaptively. Such an expanded understanding of lake level loss as a socionatural hazard enables the orchestration of more comprehensive solutions to such phenomena than is possible solely on the basis of technical remedies to such hazards.