454 Int. J. Environment and Waste Management, Vol. 25, No. 4, 2020 Copyright © 2020 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of environmental deterioration and identification of impacts due to irregular occupations at the margins of the Capibaribe River, city of São Lourenço DA MATA/PE Maria Júlia de Oliveira Holanda* and Diogo Henrique Fernandes da Paz Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife/PE, Brazil Email: mariajuliaholanda@gmail.com Email: diogo.henriquepaz@gmail.com *Corresponding author Kalinny Patrícia Vaz Lafayette and Tiana Cibele Fagundes Ximenes University of Pernambuco (UPE), Benfica street, 455, Madalena, Recife/PE, Brazil Email: klafayette@poli.br Email: tianafagundesximenes@gmail.com Abstract: Disorganised urban occupation in the surrounding river regions has had many negative impacts on natural systems and human populations. The Capibaribe River in the city of São Lourenço da Mata, in Pernambuco, suffers from these environmental impacts. The objective of this research was to carry out a quantitative and qualitative analysis of Environmental Impacts in an irregularly occupied section in the margin of the Capibaribe river, in São Lourenço da Mata / PE, through bibliographic research, characterisation of the area, data collection and development of interaction matrices for analysis of identified impacts. 36 sites of irregular occupations were identified in the area considered as permanent preservation areas, indicating non-compliance with environmental laws. The negative impacts were predominant in relation to the positive impacts. The impacts to the anthropic environment can be considered mainly as direct and local and the impacts on the biotic environment can be interpreted mainly as reversible. Keywords: irregular occupation; environmental impacts; permanent preservation areas. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Holanda, M.J.d.O., Paz, D.H.F.d., Lafayette, K.P.V. and Ximenes, T.C.F. (2020) ‘Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of environmental deterioration and identification of impacts due to irregular occupations at the margins of the Capibaribe River, city of São Lourenço DA MATA/PE’, Int. J. Environment and Waste Management, Vol. 25, No. 4,pp.454–473.