On 31 December 1936, the Dutch navy pilot Frits Julius Wissel, just weeks after first ascending the highest mountain of New Guinea, and his crew flew over the lakes while making an aerial survey for the Dutch New Guinea oil company.

[5] In November of that year, the Dutch Indies government named the group of lakes after Wissel.

[7] The region of the Paniai Lakes, consisting of a depression between the Weyland and Sudirman ranges, is heavily populated.

[9] Around the year 2001, as part of the Papua conflict, the surrounding forests were burned down by the military so that they could not harbor separatists.

Illegal or informal mining operations in Baya Biru also exacerbated the pollution and environmental degradation.

However, it was difficult for local authorities to stop because of its remote location, which is only accessible by helicopter, and mining activities employ 7,000 people in the area.