Smallholder foresters are amongst the key stakeholders for sustainable development and productive land use. In Thailand they face various challenges including insufficient tenure, burdensome commercialization, and limited access to markets. Similarly, forestry specific financial services are often unavailable. Key obstacles include cash flow constraints attributed to the long gestation periods and a lack of conventional collateral to obtain loans. As a response to the lack of sustainable financing mechanisms for forest smallholders, tree collateral and Tree Banks emerged in Thailand. This paper depicts the evolution of the innovative Thai tree collateral approaches and conceptualizes their intricacies. Tree collateral refers to the use of trees as a business security for loans. Thailand’s innovative national Tree Bank systems provide the context for this case study. Based on expert interviews (n = 39) and subsequent secondary literature review as well as process tracing, the article explores potentials and shortcomings of the tree collateral approaches in Thailand. There are significant conceptual and ideological differences between the two Tree Bank institutions, namely the Tree Bank BAAC (Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives) and Tree Bank CSO (Civil Society Organization). These differences focus on the need to include private land together with trees as collateral. In addition, core constraints remain for tree collateral such as limited tenure and valuation procedures and high gearing ratios. The discussion of risks reveals mainly socio-economic and financial risks for smallholders and financing institutions. Standardization procedures and mitigation strategies including micro-insurances are indispensable. The process tracing revealed causal mechanisms that lead to tree collateral, including aggregation amongst smallholders as well as specific enabling policy reforms. Tree collateral represents an innovative and promising tool but is not the ‘silver bullet’ that magically solves the financial challenges of smallholders. Rather it is niche-specific and requires a series of broader prerequisites for successful and low-risk implementation especially in the context of smallholder forestry.

小农林农是可持续发展和生产性土地利用的主要利益相关者之一。在泰国，他们面临着各种挑战，包括任期不足、商业化繁重以及进入市场的机会有限。同样，林业特定的金融服务往往不可用。主要障碍包括由于孕期过长和缺乏获得贷款的常规抵押品而导致的现金流限制。作为对森林小农缺乏可持续融资机制的回应，泰国出现了树木抵押品和树木银行。本文描述了创新的泰国树木抵押方法的演变，并对其复杂性进行了概念化。树木抵押是指使用树木作为贷款的商业担保。泰国创新的国家树木银行系统为本案例研究提供了背景。基于专家访谈（n = 39）和随后的二级文献回顾以及过程追踪，本文探讨了泰国树木抵押方法的潜力和缺点。两个树库机构，即树库 BAAC（农业和农业合作银行）和树库 CSO（民间社会组织）之间存在显着的概念和意识形态差异。这些差异集中在需要包括私人土地和树木作为抵押品。此外，树木抵押品的核心限制仍然存在，例如有限的任期和估值程序以及高资产负债率。风险讨论主要揭示了小农和金融机构面临的社会经济和金融风险。包括小额保险在内的标准化程序和缓解策略必不可少。过程追踪揭示了导致树木抵押的因果机制，包括小农之间的聚集以及具体的扶持政策改革。树木抵押品代表了一种创新和有前途的工具，但并不是神奇地解决小农财务挑战的“银弹”。相反，它是特定于利基的，需要一系列更广泛的先决条件才能成功和低风险地实施，尤其是在小农林业的背景下。过程追踪揭示了导致树木抵押的因果机制，包括小农之间的聚集以及具体的扶持政策改革。树木抵押品代表了一种创新和有前途的工具，但并不是神奇地解决小农财务挑战的“银弹”。相反，它是特定于利基的，需要一系列更广泛的先决条件才能成功和低风险地实施，尤其是在小农林业的背景下。过程追踪揭示了导致树木抵押的因果机制，包括小农之间的聚集以及具体的扶持政策改革。树木抵押品代表了一种创新和有前途的工具，但并不是神奇地解决小农财务挑战的“银弹”。相反，它是特定于利基的，需要一系列更广泛的先决条件才能成功和低风险地实施，尤其是在小农林业的背景下。