1899 : Prince Harbhanji of Morvi state in Gujarat was appointed as an administrator for Bharatpur State. He was responsible for converting this depression into a duckshoot reserve by getting bandhs and dykes constructed in order to increase the water holding of the area.

1900 : The reserve area was flooded for the first time and a regular water distribution system was devised. The inundation resulted in production of a lot of aquatic vegetation, which attracted a very large number of migratory birds.

1901 : The reserve was formally inaugurated by the then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon when a duck shoot was organized in his honor on December 2, 1902.

1919 : Boundaries of the duck shooting reserve were clearly demarcated.

1925 : The Forest Act of Bharatpur was passed, and the erstwhile Shikar Department brought under the Forest Department.

1938 : A shooting party headed by the then Viceroy of India, Lord Linlilthgow shot a maximum of 4,273 birds on November 12th.

1956 : Keoladeo Ghana was notified as a Protected Area and a bird sanctuary. Hunting rights remained with the Maharajah of Bharatpur, his guests, and a few state guests till 1972.

1967 : Keoladeo Ghana was declared as a Reserved Forest under the Rajasthan Forest Act, 1953.

1972 : Ruler's hunting rights withdrawn.

1977 - 81 : A masonry wall was constructed all around the park.

1981 : Keoladeo Ghana was declared as a Ramsar site under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary was upgraded to a National Park. Cattle grazing inside the park was banned.

1985 : The park was declared as a World Heritage site under the World Heritage Convention.

Note - Prior to Keoladeo being declared a National Park, cattle rearing and grazing became a major economic use of the Ghana. When it became a National Park, it now officially became subject to the 1972 Wildlife (Protection) Act, which required that national parks be areas free of human activities and livestock. When the ban on grazing was imposed, a confrontation between the villagers and the police on this issue led to the deaths of six villagers.

Keoladeo which earlier used to be flood prone is now dependent on rain, because one of the two rivers, Banganga, on which it was dependent, has long dried up and on the second river, Gambhir, a dam called the Panchana Dam has been built damming the river. The local politicians of that area have not been allowing the water to be released from the dam for the National Park, as they want it for agricultural purposes. A permanent solution to the water supply problem at Keoladeo is yet to be found.

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